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■MllUuniMLMiM' wn.iwn'i    . 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


GIFT  OF 

Mrs.  E,  F.  Dacoimium 


THE  RELIGION  OF 
THE  SPIRIT  WORLD 


Writfen  hy  the  Spirits  Themselves 


BY  THE 

REV.  PROF.  G.  HENSLOW,  M.A. 

r.L.S.,  F.Q.S.,  F.8.H.S. 

Author   of   The   Proofs   of   Spirit   Forces,   Spirit   PsycTiometry, 

Spiritual     Teaching    of    Christ's    Life,    Christian    Beliefs    Be-. 

considered  in  the  Light  of  Modern  Thought^  etc. 


THE    MARLOWE    PRESS 

223  W.  Eric  Street 

CUICAGO,   ILL. 


Copyright    1920 


FOREWORD 

I  BEG  to  offer  my  most  grateful  thanks  and  to  ac- 
knowledge my  indebtedness  to  the  authors  and 
publishers  whose  works  I  have  herein  quoted.  As 
this  most  important  subject  depends  entirely  upon 
what  the  Spirits  have  told  us,  the  book  could  not 
have  been  compiled  without  making  free  use  of  all 
the  communications  I  could  find. 

I  wrote,  I  believe,  to  every  one  of  the  publishers 
or  authors  from  whom  I  quoted  one  or  more  para- 
graphs. The  great  majority  replied,  not  only  with 
complete  acquiescence,  but  often  mth  words  of 
approval  and  encouragement.  In  one  or  two  cases 
the  publishers  had  left  and  could  not  be  traced.  If 
it  be  found  I  have  accidentally  omitted  to  write  to 
any  publishers,  I  trust  they  will  forgive  me,  for 
the  sake  of  the  importance  of  the  subject. 


Vi 


1003966 


CONTENTS 


CHAP.  PAGE 

Introduction — General  Considerations 

of  Life  in  the  Future  our 1 

I.     The  Passing  Over — The  Eeception  of 

Ourselves  and  of  our  Little  Ones....    18 
II.     The  Necessary  Pre-acquired  Mental 
Conditions  for  Securing  Happiness 

in  the  Next  World 39 

HE.    Man's  Conception  of  God;  Man  and 

his  Duties,  Here  and  Hereafter 48 

IV.    The  Laws  of  Eternal  Life 62 

V.    The  Gospel  of  Character,  Preached 

and  Practiced  in  the  Next  Life 77 

VI.    **  Jesus  Christ,  the  Same  Yesterday, 

Today  and  for  Ever"  (Heb.  13,  8)     88 
Vn.    Imperator  and  his  Eeligious  Position ; 

What  is  True  Christianity? 99 

VHL  The  Acquisition  of  the  Christ-like 
Character  and  Conduct  is  Every- 
thing Hereafter,  and  must  be 
striven  for  on  Earth. 108 

vii 


viii  CONTENTS 

CHAP.  PAGE 

IX.  'Agape,  the  True  Christian  Love.,  i.e., 
the  ''Enthusiasm  of  Humanity"  is 
the  Greatest  Feature  of  the  Next 

World 114 

X.     The    True    Spiritual    Meanings    of 

''Heaven"  and  "Hell" 136 

XL  The  Doctrine  of  the  Atonement  not 
Accepted  in  the  Next  World,  but 
Replaced  by  the  "At-one-ment," 
i.e.,  the  Reconciliation  of  Man  to 
God,  on  his  Sincere  Repentance  and 
Amendment  of  Life — the  Sacra- 
ment of  the  Lord's  Supper 148 

XIL    The  Fate  of  the  Suicide— A  Terrible 

Warning   182 

XIIL    A  Future  Annihilation  Possible,  but 

Self- Wrought  193 

XIV.  Spiritualism  in  the  Bible,  e.g..  The 
Witch  of  Endor,  and  the  Holy 
Seance  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost 199 

XV.  The  Nature  of  Man,  Here  and  Here- 
after    214 


Religion  of  the  Spirit  World 


INTKODUCTION 

GIINERAL  CONSIDEEATIONS  OF  OUE  LIFE 
IN  THE  FUTURE 

The  world  is  awakening  to  the  fact  that  we  can 
communicate  with  those  who  have  gone  before, 
and  that  they  can  respond  to  us. 

The  first  thing  to  be  done,  was  to  prove  by  the 
strictly  scientific  methods  of  Induction  and  Ex- 
perimental Verification,  that  these  facts  were  gen- 
uine truths  and  not  a  priori  assumptions  or  trick- 
ery; let  us  ''prove  all  things  and  hold  fast  to  that 
which  is  good." 

In  my  Proofs  of  the  Spirit  Forces  I  proceeded 
to  follow  these  lines,  assisted  by  practical  demon- 
strations of  spirit-photographs  of  persons  recog- 
nized or  not,  as  the  case  may  be;  as  well  as  by 
autographs,  identified  or  otherwise,  usually  called 
"Psychographs" ;  together  with  numerous  "auto- 
matic handwritings." 

Since  spirits  all  tell  us  that  when  we  awake  on 
the  other  side  with  our  spirit-bodies,  we  are  in 
other  respects  mentally  exactly  the  same  as  when 


2  INTEODUCTION 

we  left  this  earth,  it  is  only  to  be  expected  that  the 
friends  and  relations  from  whom  we  have  parted 
hasten  to  assure  us  of  their  presence.  With  regard 
to  difficulties  of  communication,  Iniperator*  said: 
"We  would  point  out  to  you  that  all  our  inter- 
course with  the  material  plane  is  governed  by 
laws  which  your  science  has  not  yet  defined. 
Neither  we,  nor  you,  know  as  yet  many  of  the 
causes  which  interfere  with  our  power.  We  are 
not  able  to  lay  down  laws  for  your  guidance, 
scarce  even  for  our  own.  ...  No  proper  care  is 
taken  of  our  mediums.  The  instrument  is  out  of 
tune,  unstrung,  or  overworked.  The  atmospheric 
conditions  vary.  We  do  not  always  know  how 
to  meet  the  various  effects  so  caused.  Circles 
are  not  properly  composed;  any  many  things 
combine  to  make  it  impossible  that  phenomena 
should  always  be  similar  in  their  nature,  or  be 
evoked  with  precise  regularity.'' 

It  has  been  said  by  a  writer  who  disbelieved  in 
spiritualism,  that,  as  regards  any  religious  value 
in  it,  it  must  ever  be  useless.  Such  an  assumption 
will  be  disposed  of  by  the  present  collection  of 
teachings  from  the  other  side. 

The  first  and  most  important  truth  which  all 

*Spirit  Teachings,  p.  117.  (Office  of  Light.)  Imperator  was  the 
assumed  name  of  a  highly  intellectual  and  religious  spirit,  who 
wrote  by  means  of  the  Rev.  Stainton  Moses'  hand  nearly  all  that 
is  recorded  in  his  8vo.  volume,  containing  some  100,000  words.  If 
any  reader  should  have  doubts  about  the  genuineness  of  the  Rev. 
Stainton  Moses'  reports,  or  of  his  mental  characteristics,  etc.,- 
I  would  refer  him  to  Ch.  vi.,  pp.  60-69,  of  Mr.  J.  Arthur  Hill's 
work,  entitled,  Spiritualism,  its  History,  Phenomena,  and  Doctrine 
(Cassell). 


INTEODUCTION  3 

the  spirits  who  communicate  vnth.  ns  on  religions 
matters,  is,  that  we  should  take  to  heart  the  indis- 
putable fact  that  we  must  regard  this  world  as 
the  opportunity  for  preparing  ourselves  for  the 
next,  by  means  of  the  forming  of  Character,  by 
exliibiting  on  all  occasions  the  Christ-like  Conduct. 
For  when  we  have  passed  over  the  border-line, 
our  eyes  vnll  be  opened  to  the  fact  that  our  condi- 
tion and  place  there  "uoll  have  been,  so  to  say,  auto- 
matically and  already  determined  by  our  character 
acquired  on  earth.  Such  is  God's  method  of 
** Judgment  by  Natural  Law."  They  may  be 
bright  or  gloomy,  enjoyable  or  painful;  we  may  be 
welcomed  by  loving  relations  and  friends,  or 
shunned ;  not  only  because  of  having  done  wrong 
to  others ;  but  because  we  have  left  undone  what 
we  ought  to  have  done.* 

But  this  is  no  more  than  all  may  learn  from  the 
New  Testament.  Let  the  reader  prepare  himself 
by  reading  St.  James'  definition  of  the  Christian 
Religion.  As  he  was  Our  Lord's  ovm  brother, 
he  doubtless  knew  Jesus  more  intimately  than 
any  one  elsef.  Then  let  the  reader  turn  to  the 
results  of  the  life  spent  on  earth t-  Then  read  the 
parable  of  the  Rich  Man  and  Lazarus;  though 
WTitten  in  s^nubolical  language,  we  can  read  the 
truth  that '' Gehenna''  means  mental  agony,  while 
^'Abraham's  bosom"  indicates  restful  hliss. 

Secondly;  as  all  terrestrial  environments  are 
gone  for  ever,  all  their  interests  generally  go  with 
them.  The  enjoyment  of  the  use  of  money  is  gone, 

•See  Matt.,  25,  31  ff.     ■fJas.  1,  27.     |3/«(<.  25,  31  ff. 


4  INTRODUCTION 

the  pleasures  of  the  body  cease  for  ever*  with  its 
death,  though  cravings  may  remain,  but  the  soul 
can  rise  to  far  greater  joys.  The  intense  enjoy- 
ment of  the  intellect  is  endless;  the  pleasure  of 
benevolence  knows  no  limit;  the  ennoblement  of 
the  character  by  the  Christ-like  conduct  is  open 
to  all  for  ever.  Religion  is  conduct  as  revealed  by 
our  lives,  as  St.  James  implies. 

The  so-called  ''Evangelical"  School  of  Thought 
will  miss  what  is  considered  by  its  members  the 
''Gospel,"  namely  the  Doctrine  of  the  Atonement. 
For,  as  mil  be  shown  in  Chapter  13,  it  was  a 
wrong  interpretation  of  Scripture,  and  due  to  the 
Latin  translation  (expiatio).  The  word  "Redemp- 
tion^'t  also  is  from  the  Latin  Vulgate  and  not  the 
original  Greek,  which  means  "rescue"  and  "For- 
giveness of  sins,  literally  a  "loosening  away  by  a 
price";  but  the  "purchasing"  and  "price"  were 
metaphors  only.  All  that  God  asks  for,  as  Jesus 
did,  is  true  repentance  and  a  new  life.  Repentance 
carries  forgiveness  with  it.  The  word  "Atone- 
ment" has  lost  its  meaning  of  "At-one-ment"  but 
has  been  rightly  replaced  by  "Reconciliation"  in 
the  only  passage  where  it  occurred  in  the  New 
Testament!. 

The  Roman  Catholic  branch  of  the  Chnrch  will 

*A  Spirit  said  to  me  in  reply  to  the  question  whether  it  was 
a  man  or  woman  writing:  "We  have  no  passions."  They  often 
refuse  to  state  their  sex.  f See  Eph.  1,  7.  Eedemption  and  For- 
giveness are  synonymous.  |Though  meaning  "At-one-ment,"  it 
was  pronounced  as  now  and  spelt  "  att-oon-ment, "  as  double  o 
meant  the  long  sound  of  o,  still  retained  as  also  in  "alone" 
i.e.,  "all-one.")    Eom.  5,  11. 


INTEODUCTION  5 

miss  the  dogma  of  a  *'Eeal,  mystical,  substantial 
Presence";  for  there  is  no  scriptural  ground  for 
it,  and  the  Preaching  Spirits  have  nothing  to  say 
about  it.  It  and  the  Lord's  Supper  are  simply 
ignored.  It  originated  in  the  declarations  of  an 
obscure  monk  in  the  seventh  century,  who  wished 
to  oppose  the  edict  of  the  Greek  Emperor  to  put 
down  image-worship,  by  substituting  the  worship 
of  the  bread  and  mne. 

One  objection,  which  opponents  of  spiritualism 
make,  is  the  so-called  ''trivialities"  of  the  com- 
munications from  the  other  side ;  but  they  do  not 
tell  us  what  we  ought  to  expect.  The  subject  must 
be  regarded  from  two  points  of  view,  a  connnon- 
sense  aspect  and  a  serious  one.  When  people  pass 
over  and  come  and  talk  with  us,  or  write  by  our 
hands  a  few  days  afterwards,  why  should  it  be 
supposed  that  they  must  have  changed  all  at  once? 
"What  they  were,  so  they  are.  They  talk  and  laugh 
just  as  they  did  before  their  decease.  This  very 
naturalness  is  a  witness  to  the  truth  that  they  are 
the  same,  and  we  recognize  them  by  it.  Similarly 
a  preacher  on  earth  may  become  a  preacher  there, 
and  when  such  an  one  revisits  us,  he  talks  seri- 
ously, learnedly  and  reverently,  and  often  perhaps 
more  wisely  than  some  of  our  clergy  do  when  still 
on  earth. 

It  may  be  desirable  to  say  a  few  words  on  a 
few  spirit-photographs  and  psychographs  alluded 
to*. 

•I  must  refer  the  reader  to  my  Proofs  of  Spirit  Forces  for 
thom  and  many  other  illustrations  mentioned   in   this  book. 


6  INTRODUCTION 

Since  spirit-photographs  show  our  friends  at 
the  age  and  in  the  dress,  etc.,  which  we  can  recog- 
nize, sceptics  at  once  assume  they  must  he  frauds. 
Such  assumptions  are  worse  than  useless,  for  they 
intensify  prejudice.  The  only  way  to  find  out  the 
truth  is  to  learn  what  the  Spirits  have  to  tell  us ; 
and  when  you  find  they  all  say  the  same  thing, 
wherever  in  this  world  they  can  communicate, 
you  have  no  alternative  but  to  accept  their  uni- 
versal statement  that  all  such  "materializations'* 
are  made  by  thought,  temporarily,  for  a  definite 
purpose.  Hoiv  it  is  done  is  another  matter*,  which 
they  tell  us,  they  cannot  further  explain.  In  writing 
they  use  our  pens  and  ink,  but  "not  the  same,'*  as 
a  spirit  told  me,  but  he  could  not  explain  it.  See 
the  spirit-photograph  (No.  18)  and  compare 
Archdeacon  CoUey's  signature  with  (No.  19)  in  a 
fragment  of  a  letter  to  me  before  he  passed  over. 

In  the  present  book  I  have  confined  myself  to 
what  the  spirits  have  to  say  on  the  most  important 
subject  on  earth  and  in  heaven,  namely  that  of 
Religion.  The  result  of  their  teaching  is  that 
the  Church  and  the  world  have  a  great  deal  to 
unlearn  before  the  human  mind  will  be  "at  one" 
with  what  they  ^n\\  have  to  learn  on  quitting  this 
earth. 

I  will  explain  it  by  something  I  overheard.  A 
clergyman  was  talking  to  a  young  lady  about  the 
great  self-sacrifice  some  one  was  making  in  doing 
good  in  the  "slums."  She  replied  by  a  question: 

•This  is  explained  by  Spirits  as  fully  as  they  can,  and  given 
in  mj  other  book. 


INTKODUCTION  7 

"But  what  has  all  that  got  to  do  witk  Chris- 
tianity ?'' 

She  was  not  the  only  one  who  does  not  know 
that  the  Christian  Religion  is  this  very  thing,  as 
St.  James  puts  it  tersely:  "Pure  Religion  is  to 
visit  the  fatherless  and  mdows*." 

If  any  reader  is  inclined  to  ask  the  same  ques- 
tion, let  him  read  Mr.  Heslop's  letters  to  his  wife, 
from  the  other  world,  entitled  Speaking  Across  the 
Border-linei. 

Religion  on  the  other  side,  as  we  learn  from 
spirits,  is  simply  what  it  ought  to  be  on  this  earth 
— the  Christ-like  Character  and  Conduct  based  on 
a  Self-Sacrificing  Enthusiasm  of  humanity — called 
* '  Love. '  *  Ecclesiastical  dogmas  are  not  recognized 
in  Heaven. 

The  reader  will  find  various  repetitions  in  this 
book;  or  it  proceeds  by  Induction;  that  is,  the 
accumulation  of  quite  independent  statements, 
which  corroborate  one  another,  and  so  establish 
the  Truth  of  all.  Moreover,  I  quote  the  same  pas- 
sage twice  if  it  require  fresh  emphasis. 

That  Imperator  and  others  were  really  spirits 
communicating  with  Rev.  Stainton  Moses  is 
proved  by  the  mass  of  matter  in  Spirit  Teachings, 
which  could  not  possibly  have  been  Mr.  Moses' 
writing  unconsciously,  because  it  was  diametric- 
ally opposed  to  what  Mr.  Moses  had  been  brought 
up  to  believe;  yet  after  some  years  of  Imperator's 

•Jag.  1,  27.     fPublishocl  by  C.  Taylor,  Warwick  Lano,  London, 
E.  C.     See  also  Private  Dowding  (same  publisher). 


8  INTEODUCTION 

teaching,  he  found  he  became  "regenerated"  by  it, 
as  he  tells  us. 

In  addition,  a  little  event  occurred  at  a  seance 
which  was  very  convincing  to  him.  He  describes 
it  as  follows : 

'  *  One  very  striking  case  occurred,  thus :  A  spirit 
who  had  long  communicated  with  us  was  cross- 
examined  by  one  of  our  circle  from  a  book  which 
recorded  some  facts  of  his  life.  The  book  had 
lately  been  published,  and  no  one  of  us,  except 
the  questioner,  had  seen  it.  The  names  and  dates 
had  got  jumbled  in  his  head,  and  it  was  most 
striking  to  find  the  unseen  intelligence  correcting 
every  mistake,  refusing  flatly  and  persistently  to 
acquiesce  in  an  error  and  even  spelling  out  words 
that  had  been  mispronounced. 

*'The  sounds  were  made  most  expressive  of  an- 
noyance, irritation  and  vexation.  The  corrections 
were  rapped  out  with  the  greatest  promptness  be- 
fore a  question  was  complete,  and  in  all  cases  with 
literal  exactness.  It  was  impossible  to  doubt  that 
one  was  dealing  with  an  entity  whose  individuality 
was  a  strong  as  ever,  whose  memory  was  by  no 
means  impaired,  and  who  had  lost  nothing  of  the 
energy  that  characterized  him  in  his  embodied 
state.  I  refer  to  that  evening  the  growth  in  my 
mind  of  a  strong  conviction  that  the  Intelligences 
who  communicated  were  really  the  persons  they 
pretended  to  be  .  The  accent  of  denial  was  so 
perfect,  the  irritable  rejoindei'  and  corrections 
were  so  natural,  that  I  do  not  lxli';7'  f  p'^rsonatrr 


INTRODUCTION  9 

could  have  done  it,  or  would  have  thought  of  such 
a  subtle  trait.  On  the  following  morning  I  ques- 
tioned on  the  subject.  (Mr.  Moses  writes  his  own 
conunents  and  answers  in  italics.) 

/  was  much  struck  by  your  corrections  last  night. 

"The  book  was  wrong  and  imperfect  in  many 

ways.  I  did  make  acquaintance  with before 

he  became  my  pupil,  and  I  told  you  truly  that  I 
studied  at  Paris." 

/  don't  doubt  it.  You  were  eidently  in  earnest 
and  quite  angry. 

''It  is  provoking  to  me  to  be  questions  wrongly, 
and  from  imperfect  information  imperfectly  re- 
membered, I  knew  what  I  said. ' ' 

/  can't  affect  to  he  sorry;  for  it  brought  out  the 
best  proof  of  identity  I  have  had  yet.  Of  course  we 
only  value  it  as  such. 

"Yes.  But  you  watch  for  an  opportunity  of 
entangling. ' ' 

Oh,  no!  I  only  wanted  proof. 

"You  have  proof  which  it  would  be  hard  to 
increase."* 

This  spirit  doubtless  refes  to  hnperator's  com- 
munications; which  supply  ample  proofs  to  all 
unprejudiced  minds. 

I  ^\^I1  add  a  remarkable  proof  of  identity  of  my 
own  experience.  When  I  had  partially  written 
the  manuscript  of  this  book,  I  entrusted  it  to  a 
friend.  A  few  months  followed  and  I  saw  an 
obituary  notice  of  him.  Being  anxious  to  recover 
my  manuscript,  I  wrote  to  his  "Executor,"  not 

'Spirit  Teachings,  pp.  18  ff.    (Office  of  Light.) 


10  INTRODUCTION 

knowing  anything  of  his  family.  The  manuscript 
was  returned  by  his  wife.  On  the  same  evening  Mr. 

wrote  by  automatic  handwriting  as  follows : 

**Mrs. will  have  no  difficulty  in  finding  your 

manuscript,  as  it  is  on  the  writing  table,  over  the 
right  hand  drawer  on  the  top."  On  subsequently 
enquiring  if  this  had  been  correct,  the  reply  came 
that  it  was  "absolutely  correct  in  every  word.'* 

One  more  example.  I  had  lent  a  book  on  Botany 
to  a  friend,  who  most  unexpectedly  died  three  days 
afterwards.  He  wrote :  ' '  Please  tell  Mr.  Henslow 
I  was  much  obliged  to  him  for  lending  me  the 
book."  The  mediumistic  lady  who  wrote  auto- 
matically knew  nothing  about  it. 

There  are  two  ways  by  which  spirits  can  com- 
municate with  us  by  means  of  photographic  plates. 
One  is  in  the  ordinary  way  of  taking  a  photo  by 
daylight — provided  a  medium  is  present;  but  he 
need  take  no  part  in  the  procedure.  The  second 
is  by  holding  a  packet  of  plates  unopened,  in  the 
left  hand,  with  the  right  on  the  top;  then  each 
member  of  the  "Circle"  puts  his  or  her  hands  in 
the  same  way.  Lastly,  the  control  of  the  medium 
(in  trance)  similarly  holds  them.  In  about  30 
seconds  the  control  removes  the  medium's  hands. 
All  the  others  follow  suit,  when  the  former  states 
on  which  plate  or  plates,  faces,  or  writing,  will  be 
found.  The  owner  takes  the  packet,  still  un- 
opened, home  and  develops  those  only  which  were 
mentioned.  They  always  prove  to  be  correct,  as 
the  Spirit  control  foretold.  All  trickery  larid  decep- 
tion are  of  the  question  in  both  cases 


INTRODUCTION  11 

In  my  book  on  The  Proofs  of  Spirit  Forces  my 
object  was  simply  to  prove  that  our  departed 
friends  can  and  do  communicate  with  us,  and  we 
with  them.  There  was  nothing  particularly  edify- 
ing, as  a  rule,  in  what  the  spirits  wrote  or  said, 
excepting  in  the  religious  discourse  of  Ajax,  who 
always  commences  the  seances  at  Dr.  Hooper's 
house,  the  latter  being  the  medium.  My  object  in 
all  other  cases  was  to  secure  as  much  variety  of 
evidence  as  possible. 

In  this  present  work  my  aim  is  different.  A 
certain  number  of  Spirits  do  communicate  with  us 
on  highly  spiritual  matters  and  their  writings 
have  been  published.  Such  are  Imperator's  Spirit 
Teachings,  a  book  containing  100,000  words,  which 
are  only  a  portion  of  all  that  he  wrote  by  means 
of  Rev.  Stainton  Moses'  hand;  Julia's  After 
Death;  she  wrote  by  the  late  Mr.  W.  T.  Stead's 
hand,  the  anonymous  writer  of  Christ  in  You;  Mr. 
Heslop's  Speaking  Across  the  Border-Line,  and 
many  others. 

The  late  Rev.  Arthur  Chambers'  widely  read 
book.  Our  Life  After  Death*,  has  reached  110 
editions,  and  has  for  its  object  to  treat  of  the 
** Intermediate  State,"  i.e.,  the  ** period  every  one 
passes  through,  called  'Hades.'  "  The  word 
''Heaven" — the  origin  of  which  is  unknown — 
stands  for  one  or  more  higher  spheres  than  Hades. 
St.  Paul  tells  us  of  threet ;  the  lowest  of  the  series 
is  perhaps  Hades  itself  or  our  place  of  probation. 

"(Gay  and  Hancock),     fll  Cor.,  12,  2. 


12  INTRODUCTION 

The  parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarns  points  to 
some  separation  of  the  good  from  the  bad ;  as  the 
disciple  said  of  Judas,  he  **went  to  his  own 
place."* 

That  such  is  the  case  the  Spirits  assure  us;  so 
that  this  belief  seems  to  have  been  accepted  by 
the  disciples. 

Sympathy  or  Love  is  the  uniting  link  in  the 
Beyond,  being  the  basis  of  the  ''Communion  of 
Saints,"  i.e.,  all  true  Christians. 

In  regard  to  the  future  life,  Mr.  Chambers  pro- 
ceeds to  establish  from  the  Bible  three  **  Propo- 
sitions"! here  epitomized. 

No.  1 :  The  Continuity  of  a  conscious  personal- 
ity. This  is  abundantly  confirmed  by  Spirit-com- 
munications, however  made. 

No.  2:  Man  does  not  pass  at  once  into  either 
Heaven  or  Hell.  As  a  Spirit  Control  (Ajax)  ob- 
served: **We  do  not  become  either  angels  or 
devils  on  passing  over.'* 

No.  3 :  We  enter  at  once  into  the  Intermediate 
state,  or  Hades-life. 

As  the  "cloud  of  witnesses "t  are  all  about  us 
and  communicate  with  us  the  moment  we  address 
them,  it  is  obvious  that  they  are  still  on  or  near 
the  earth,  but  invisible  to  us,  unless  one  be  clair- 
voyant. 

Mr.  Chambers  draws  five  deductions  as  follows : 

•■"Place"  seems  to  mean  "conditions"  created  automatically  by  the  man 
himself.  See  Private  Dovding's  account.   1[0p.  cit,  p.  37.  iHeb.,  12*  I. 


INTRODUCTION  13 

"1.    There  is  no  break  of  continuity  in  passing 
from  Earth-life  to  the  Hades-life. 
[Spirits  have  spoken  to  me  within  a  few 
days  of  the  departure,  as  e.g.,  the  Ven 
Archdeacon  CoUey.*] 

2.  In  Hades-life  we  shall  he  in  relationship 

with  those  we  knew  on  earth. 
[I  have  experienced  this  fact,  but  reversed.] 

3.  That  there  are  different  spheres  of  experi- 
ence in  the  Hades-life. 

[We  are  told  of  certain  friends  to  whom  this 
applies.] 

4.  A  work  of  perfecting  and  developing  will  go 
on  in  the  Hades-life. 

[But  it  depends  upon  our  own  will  and 
energy.] 

5.  There  is  preaching  of  Christ's  Gospel  in  this 
Intermediate  life,  which  ivarrants  us  in  be- 
lieving that  the  work  of  saving  mankind  is 
extended  beyond  the  grave." 

Mr.  Chambers,  then,  establishes  these  truths  by 
appealing  to  Scripture.  I  cannot  improve  upon  his 
Propositions  and  Deductions,  so  quote  them,  for 
my  object  is  to  prove  that  he  is  right  from  the 
evidence  of  the  Spirits  themselves;  that  is  to  say, 
the  actual  words  from  the  inhabitants  of  Hades, 
for  such  is  much  more  convincing  than  any  argu- 
mentative expositions.! 

In  an  Appendix!  Mr.  Chambers  discusses  ** Fu- 
ture Punishments'*  and  God's  "Purpose  of  the 

*Ps^chogTaf)h,  No.  20.  tFragment  of  a  letter  to  show  identities.  No. 
!I9.    top  cU.,  p.  203. 


14  INTEODUCTION 

Ages'' ;  but  he  does  not  make  it  quite  clear  enough 
that  there  are  no  *' punishments"  or  "rewards" 
from  without  as  with  the  Israelites*,  nor,  that 
there  is  no  **  judgment"  in  the  ordinary  manner  at 
all;  for  we  shall  be  all  "Self -justified"  or  "Self- 
condemned,"  according  to  the  great  spiritual,  but 
Natural,  Law  of  Conscience  established  by  God. 
Mr.  Chambers  says :  "We  would  by  no  means  deny 
that  there  is  in  the  World  Beyond  a  very  real  and 
awful  judgment  upon  all  sin  and  impenitence."! 
It  is  only  the  word  "Judgment"  which  may  be 
misleading.  He  says,  "To  us  the  words  of  Christ 
are  too  emphatic  to  be  mistaken.  Christ  spoke  of 
a  "Darkness  without,"  "a  weeping  and  gnashing 
of  teeth,"  "a  Gehenna  of  fire."!  But  these  are  all 
our  self-wrought  or  natural  consequences:  hence 
their  absolute  justice. 

This  and  much  more  is  of  course  true,  since 
Christ  said  it.  Moreover  Spirits  themselves  con- 
firm it,  as  the  reader  will  see  in  Mr.  Heslop's 
Speaking  Across  the  Border-Line,  for  he  was  ap- 
appointed  as  a  missionary  to  visit  the  awful 
places,  and  Private  Dowding  describes  his  own 
experiences. 

The  point  to  be  remembered  is  that  whatever 
is  suffered  as  a  mental  infliction  is  in  exact  pro- 
portion to  the  sins  of  the  sufferer.  We  may  call 
it  "Judgment"  but,  I  repeat,  it  is  self-wrought 


*DeuL,  Chs.  6.  7;  28,  15  ff.  top.  dl.,  p.  205.    $These  are  symbols 
of  mental  chagrin  at  the  self-brought  tortures. 


INTRODUCTION  15 

and  must  be  self-home,  and  we  mnst  he  self-raised 
out  of  it ;  though  helpers  are  always  at  hand. 

This  law  is  expressed  in  the  words:  "What- 
soever a  man  soweth  that  shall  he  reap.'*  Hence, 
as  Mr.  Heslop  and  others  tell  us  from  the  other 
side,  it  is  no  use  for  the  sufferer  to  pray  for  relief 
— like  the  rich  man  in  the  parable — as  long  as  he 
shows  no  sign  of  true  repentance,  but  only  self- 
regrets  for  what  he  is  enduring. 

That  there  is  no  Judgment  in  the  ordinary  sense 
of  the  word,  Our  Lord  makes  it  quite  clear;  for 
we  read:  ''AH  judgment  is  given  unto  the  Son*; 
but  Christ  says:  *'I  judge  no  man  ...  I  came 
not  to  judge  but  to  save"!  and  adds:  "The  Word 
shall  judge  you  at  the  Last  Day."|  In  one  word, 
it  is  the  Conscience. 

So  that  when  He  gives  us  a  parable  of  the  Judg- 
ment Day  all  the  King  does  is  to  separate  those 
compared  with  sheep,  from  the  goats — like  the 
tares  from  the  wheat ;  that  is  all  who  have  followed 
His  Word,  and  all  who  have  neglected  to  do  so.§ 

Mr.  Chambers  argues  in  favor  of  "Univer- 
salism,"  i.e.,  that  all  will  be  ultimately  saved;  but 
he  omits  to  quote  passages  which  clearly  show,  the 
possibility  of  a  man's  annihilation. 

The  Greek  word  olethros  means  "absolute  de- 
struction"; as  of  the  temple,  of  which  our  Lord 
said  not  one  stone  should  stand  upon  another||. 
So  too  Christ  said:  "Fear  Him,  who  can  destroy 
both  body  and  soul  in  Gehenna".'* 

John,  5,  22.  ^John,  8,  15;  12,  47.  tJohn,  12,  48.  %Matt., 
B5,  31  ft.     \\Matt.,  13,  2.     "Matt.,  10,  28. 


16  INTRODUCTION 

This  seems  to  correspond  with  the  *' Second 
DeathH",  i.e.,  of  those  who  utterly  refuse  to  make 
any  effort  to  recover  themselves,  and  persistently 
reject  all  offers  of  help  to  amend.  As  a  Spirit 
said  in  my  hearing:  "While  the  good  continue 
to  rise,  the  utterly  impenitent  sink  and  disappear; 
and  we  do  not  know  what  becomes  of  them." 

I  asked  another  if  this  were  true.  The  reply 
was:  *'Yes;  but  we  do  not  think  there  are  many 
who  do,  but  it  is  true." 

Mr.  Chambers  adds:  **A11  future  punishments 
are  Fatherly,  remedial  and  terminable."  This  is 
true,  provided  the  sufferer  himself  will  make  the 
requisite  effort  to  escape  and  rise  out  of  his  mental 
thraldom  into  a  higher  life.  This  self-effort  is 
absolutely  necessary. 

Unless  this  be  remembered,  the  word  "all"  is 
apt  to  mislead.  Thus  Mr.  Chambers  observes  that 
Christ  said :"  I,  if  I  be  lifted  up  from  the  earth,  will 
draw  all  men  unto  me*."  He  meant  that  He  would 
have  wished  all  men  to  come  and  be  saved ;  but  we 
know  that  the  Jews  who  crucified  Him  never  did 
allow  themselves  to  be  drawn  to  Him;  for  they 
persecuted  the  Christians  soon  afterwards!. 
Again,  it  is  said :  God  "willeth  that  all  men  should 
be  savedt/'  but  St.  Paul  said:  "Quench  not  the 
Spirit*^,"  implying  it  was  possible  to  do  so,  for 
man  has  a  Free-will  and  can  choose  to  follow 
Christ  or  "do  despite  to  him."|| 

*John,  12.  32.    IfAcis.  6.  S.    p.  Tim.,  2.  4.    §/.  Thess.,  5,  19. 
\\Heb.,  9,  29.    CD  Rev..  2.  II. 


INTRODUCTION  17 

Neither  God  nor  Christ,  therefore,  can  save  a 
man,  if  he  determinedly  refuse  to  be  saved. 

Blasphemy  against  the  Holy  Spirit  was  attribut- 
ing what  was  good  to  an  evil  source.  A  man  whose 
mind  is  so  warped  cannot  be  forgiven  as  long  as  he 
wills  to  retain  this  belief,  for  he  does  not  want  or 
care  for  forgiveness.  But,  if  he  should  in  time 
come  to  ** change  his  understanding"  as  the  Greek 
word  for  ''repent"  really  means;  then,  he  can  put 
himself  into  a  state  which  God's  love  can  recognize 
as  humble  repentance;  when,  forgiveness  and 
reconciliation  to  God  the  Father  are  a  natural 
result. 

I  would  refer  the  reader  to  an  excellent  epit- 
omized History  of  Spiritualism  and  its  Phenomena 
and  Doctrine,  which  has  lately  appeared,  in  two 
parts,  No.  I :  Historical  and  Evidential;  and  Part 
II:  Religious  Aspect  and  Criticisms.  (Cassell, 
1918.). 


Religion  of  the  Spirit  World 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  PASSING  OVER.  THE  RECEPTION  OF 
OURSELVES  AND  OF  OUR  LITTLE  ONES 

Experiences  of  crossing  the  Border-line:  Mr,  Heslop's  and 
that  of  Private  Dowding.  His  description  of  the  flowers.-^^o 
words  can  explain  or  describe  the  other  world.*— 'Excessive  grief 
for  the  departed  harmful  to  them. — Examples  of  psychographs 
of  tender  sympathies  from  the  Beyond  and  a  friendly  New 
Year 's  Greeting  to  the  * '  Crewe  Circle, ' '  and  to  the  present  writer 
from  the  Ven  Archdeacon  Colley. — The  Great  Law  of  Evolution, 
or  "Self-adaptation  to  changed  conditions  of  life,"  applies  to 
man  spiritually;  as  to  all  other  beings  of  the  Creation,  bodily. — 
1^ Heaven"    is   what   you    choose    to    make    it    on    this    earth. — 

flowers  on  the   other   side Law   of   Evolution.     The   reception 

6t  Little  Children  by  Guardian  Spirit-foster-mothers. — Spirit- 
photographs:  face  and  clothes  for  identification  assumed  tem- 
porarily by  thought. 

My  first  extract  shall  be  from  a  small  but  interest- 
ing book,  consisting  of  letters  from  her  husband, 
written  by  Mrs.  Heslop's  hand  automatically. 

The  circumstances  connected  with  the  Passing 
Over  may  be  very  different  in  the  cases  of  many 
souls;  but  as  a  hopeful  example,  I  quote  that  of 
Mr.  Heslop*,  who  thus  writes:  "You  would  like 

*I  would  strongly  recommend  all  who  are  interested  in  Spiritual- 
ism to  read  Spealcing  Across  the  Border-line,  by  F.  Heslop  (G. 
Taylor). 

18 


THE  PASSING  OVER  19 

me  to  tell  you  how  I  passed  to  spirit  life.  When  I 
died,  I  simply  fell  into  a  state  of  unconsciousness, 
and  was  taken  at  once  into  my  mother's  loving 
care.  In  this  condition  I  remained  for  a  fortnight, 
by  your  time.  Then,  by  the  help  of  my  mother 
and  other  dear  ones,  I  revived.  Gradually  the 
wonders  and  beauty  of  this  new  world  unfolded 
themselves.  The  loveliness  of  the  trees  and  flowers, 
the  grandeur  of  the  mountains,  the  glint  of  distant 
lakes,  seemed  familiar,  yet  all  spiritualized.  It  was 
some  time  before  I  could  realize  what  had  hap- 
pened, and  that  death  had  really  passed ;  so  I  re- 
joiced, for  my  sufferings  on  earth  had  been  very 
great,  and  I  had  longed  to  die.  Then  spiritual 
illumination  came  to  me.  I  developed  wonderful 
new  powers  and  was  literally  born  again.  They 
carried  me  to  my  beautiful  home,  and  every  flower 
I  loved  was  there  to  greet  me.  Oh,  such  roses! 
Would  that  you  could  see  them  too.  In  this  exqui- 
site world  all  things  are  pervaded  by  the  law  of 
affinity — two  halves  of  a  complete  whole.  Thus,  if 
you  gather  one  of  these  flowers,  the  affinity  of  the 
flower  is  still  there.  It  does  not  fade  and  die,  as 
with  you.  When  you  have  finished  with  it,  it  flies 
back  to  its  other  soul,  and  is  absorbed  into  it 
again."* 

"I  have  promised  to  tell  you  more  of  my  own 
experiences  in  this  land  of  light  and  beauty.  They 
have  been  very  wonderful,  many  of  them,  but  the 
most  wonderful  cannot  be  explained  in  words,  for 
the  simple  reason  that  there  are  no  words  that 

*0p.  cit.,  p.  1.     This  fact  was  told  mo  some  years  ago,  before 
Mr.  Heslop's  statement  was  published,  corroborating  it. 


20  THE  PASSING  OVER 

can  give  you  any  idea  of  them,  no  parallel  on  earth 
by  which  to  compare  them.  To  you  these  experi- 
ences are  a  sealed  book  until  you  have  joined  me 
here  and  can  take  part  in  them."* 

"Private  Dowding"t  describes  his  experiences 
on  passing  over.  He  says:  '* Physical  death  is 
nothing.  There  really  is  no  cause  for  fear.  This 
is  what  happened.  I  have  a  perfectly  clear  mem- 
ory of  the  whole  incident.  I  had  no  special  intima- 
tion of  danger  until  I  heard  the  whizz  of  a  shell. 
Then  followed  an  explosion,  something  struck 
hard,  hard  against  my  neck.  I  fell,  and  as  I  did  so, 
without  passing  through  my  apparent  interval  of 
.unconsciousness,  I  found  myself  outside  myself, 
helping  two  of  my  pals  to  carry  my  body  down  the 
trench  labyrinth  towards  a  nursing  station.  Death 
for  me  was  a  simple  experience — no  horror,  no 
long-drawn  suffering,  no  conflict.  When  I  found 
that  my  two  pals  could  carry  my  body  without  mj^ 
help,  I  dropped  behind.  I  just  followed  in  a  curi- 
ously humble  way.  Then  I  lost  consciousness  and 
slept  soundly.  "$ 

"Julia"  in  her  first  letter  says  on  her  death: 
' '  I  found  myself  free  from  my  body.  It  was  such  a 
strange  new  feeling.  I  was  standing  close  to  the 
bedside  on  which  my  body  was  lying.  I  saw 
everything  in  the  room  just  as  before  I  closed  my 
eyes.  I  did  not  feel  any  pain  in  'dying*;  I  felt 
only  a  great  calm  and  peace.  "§ 

*0p.  cit.,  p.  80.  The  reader  will  recall  St.  Paul's  worda:  Rom. 
8,  ISff.  Other  Spirits  continn  this.  fThe  title  of  a  book  pub- 
lished by  J.  M.  Watkins.  %0p.  cit.,  pp.  6  ff.  (abridged).  ^After 
Death,  pp.  1  ff.    (L.  T.  Stead,  Portugal  Street,  London.) 


THE  PASSING  OVER  21 

This  first  experience  of  being  able  to  see  every- 
thing seems  to  indicate  that  the  *'cord  of  life"  is 
not  actually  severed  at  first,  when  the  **  spirit- 
body"  has  escaped  from  the  body  of  flesh.  For, 
subsequently,  as  our  spirit  friends  tell  us,  they 
can  see  no  physical  objects  without  a  medium  be- 
ing present,  but  can  "read  our  thoughts." 

With  regard  to  the  spirit-body,  Dowding  writes : 
**I  am  still  evidently  in  a  body  of  some  sort;  but 
I  can  tell  you  very  little  about  it.  It  is  convenient 
and  does  not  ache  or  tire,  it  seems  to  be  similar 
in  formation  to  my  old  body.  There  is  a  sulDtle 
difference,  but  I  cannot  attempt  analysis."* 
Others  speak  in  a  very  similar  way. 

The  author  of  Christ  in  you\,  experienced  the 
same  thing  as  others  describe:  "Heaven  is  not  a 
place  to  which  you  go,  it  is  just  where  you  are. 
You  can  enter  'heaven'  noiv.  Good  men  and 
women  from  time  to  time  have  made  this  discov- 
ery, and  henceforth  'All  is  well.'  They  have 
ceased  to  hurry,  for  the  journey  is  over.  They  are 
no  longer  pilgrims  and  strangers,  but  children  in 
the  Father's  home." 

"The  first  thing  we  understand  when  we  awake 
is,  that  there  has  not  been  any  journey  or  passing 
over  and  through  vast  spaces.  We  are  just  where 
we  always  have  been — at  home ;  but  alive  for  ever- 
more. There  is  no  separation  from  any  one  we 
love,  or  from  any  good  that  is  ours.  To  enter 
'heaven'  is  to  become  fitted  into  a  larger  conscious- 

*  Private  Dnwdinfj  (J    M.  Watkins),  p.  13.    fOp.  cit,  pp.  4Sff. 
(pub.  by  J.  M    Watkins). 


22  THE  PASSING  OVER 

ness  of  God ;  and  in  this  consciousness  we  possess 
much  more  really  all  those  whom  we  love.  We  are 
nearer  to  you,  and  we  often  talk  together.  There  is 
no  parting,  but  only  greater  unity." 

A  most  important  injunction  from  the  other 
side,  which  is  repeatedly  enforced  by  spirit  writ- 
ers, is  that  those  who  are  left  behind  are  not  to 
grieve  for  them.  Useless  bewailing,  they  say,  is 
positively  harmful,  by  distressing  them,  while  they 
are  powerless  to  tell  you  so.  ''What  are  the 
facts?"  (writes  Mr.  Heslop  to  his  wife.)  **When 
anyone  dies,  upon  awakening  in  their  new  sur- 
roundings they  naturally  think  of  those  they  have 
left  behind.  If  they  are  in  great  happiness  they 
long  to  tell  their  loved  ones  not  to  grieve  for  them. 
They  want  to  describe  their  new  and  beautiful 
country  to  which  they  have  come.  With  their 
clearer  vision  they  are  often  able  to  guide  those  on 
earth  in  their  human  affairs,  and  above  all  they 
want  them  to  realize  how  love  is  deeper,  stronger, 
purer,  than  it  ever  was  on  earth." 

**Well,  then,  the  cords  of  their  great  love  draw 
them  back  to  earth,  and  in  spirit  form  they  enter 
the  old  homes.  Their  first  sorrow  is  their  total 
inability  to  make  their  presence  known.  Their 
desire  to  comfort  is  unavailing;  they  watch  the 
agony  of  grief,  and  can  do  nothing.  In  their 
distress  they  often  seek  someone  of  psychic  devel- 
opment, and  send  a  tender  message  of  love  and 
consolation.  But,  alas !  too  oten  the  bereaved  will 


THE  PASSING  OVER  23 

not  receive  the  message,  they  are  only  frightened 
or  incredulous."* 

I  can  confirm  this  experience.  A  friend  passed 
over  and  soon  afterwards  wrote  by  the  hand  of  a 
mediumistic  member  of  our  family,  that  he  had  a 
most  important  message  for  his  wife.  On  being 
informed,  she  would  not  hear  of  it,  and  wished  us 
never  to  refer  to  the  matter  again.  The  message, 
therefore,  never  came. 

Julia  wrote  through  Mr.  W.  T.  Stead's  hand  to  a 
dear  friend  who  was  utterly  broken  down  by  ex- 
cessive grief  over  the  death  of  a  beloved  relation. 
She  wrote  as  follows :  ' '  My  own  beloved,  what  do 
you  mean  by  mourning  as  one  who  has  no  hope? 
Is  it  then  all  mere  talk  that  Christ  brought  life  and 
immortality  to  life?  A^^y  is  it  that  with  the  cer- 
tainty of  the  continued  existence  of  your  loved 
ones,  you  feel  as  disconsolate  and  forlorn  as  if 
there  were  no  other  world,  and  as  if  Christ  had 
never  triumphed  over  death  and  the  grave?" 

The  Spirit-photo  (No.  21),  crossed  by  a  com- 
munication from  the  late  Archdeacon  Colley  to  the 
"circle"  at  Crewe,  who  meet  round  Mr.  Hope,  the 
medium,  is  an  illustration  of  what  all  our  friends 
still  feel  for  us.  This  "communion  of  saints"  is 
"unbroken,  if  we  did  but  all  know  it.  The  reader 
must  believe  it,  even  if  he  have  no  opportunity  of 
proving  it  to  be  true  himself. 

"My  dear  Friends,  I  am  sent  to  comfort  you. 
Times  seem  black  with  everyone  just  now,  and 
you  in  Crewe  feel  the  pall  that  now  hangs  over  you 

*  After  Death,  p.  12  (pub.  by  W.  I.  Stead). 


24  THE  PASSING  OVEE 

nationally.  May  be  it  is  the  dark  hour  before  the 
dawn.  Greeting  to  Friend  Thomas  and  all  of 
you  kindly  excuse  more  at  present.  T.  Colley* 
(Aug.  20,  1914).'^ 

The  photo  was  taken  and  developed  by  **  Friend 
Thomas'*;  whose  photo  thus  carries  the  Arch- 
deacon's message  across  it,  but  reversed;  as  is 
often  the  case.  The  message  is  first  written  on  a 
"spirit-tablet"  and  then  impressed  upon  the 
photographic  plate ;  and  if  held  wrongly  the  mes- 
sage comes  out  reversed.  This,  at  least,  seems  to 
be  the  explanation. 

In  No.  18,  also  from  the  Archdeacon  and  from 
the  Spirit-friends  (above),  it  is  not  reversed.  Tke 
letter  is  as  f oUowst : 

"Our  Dear  Friends, 

"Again  it  is  our  pleasure  to  wish  each  one 
of  you  a  very  happy  new  year.  May  your  souls 
be  flooded  with  the  light  and  love  of  God.  Look- 
ing back  on  the  twelve  months  we  see  there  have 
been  times  of  difficulty,  sadness,  and  much 
misunderstanding,  but,  thank  God,  you  have 
overcome  all.  Now  as  to  future  events,  we 
cannot  tell  you  what  will  happen,  but  judging 
by  circumstances  that  are  around  you  at  pres- 
ent, we  should  say  that  success  will  attend  your 
efforts ;  that  is,  if  you  keep  your  hands  firmly 
clasped  on  those  of  your  loved  ones;  and  wlie:" 
trials  and  difficulties  meet  you,  just  bring  thern 
to  us  and  let  us  reason  together,  and  we  will  do 

'^Proofs  of  the  Truths  of  Spirit  Forces,  p.  159.  1[0p.  cit,  p.  157. 


THE  PASSING  OVER  25 

our  best  to  help  you,  God  willing;  for  as  you 
know  we  are  very  much  interested  in  you,  so 
again,  we  wish  you  God  speed.  We  are  just 
making  way  for  your  old  and  valued  friend  to 
say  a  few  words.  God  bless  you." 
**My  Dear  Friends, 

'*I  write  at  this,  our  Family  Worship,  my 
psychic  message  to  let  you  three  know  I  wish 
you  the  season's  best  greetings.  So  please  give 
this  to  Miss  S and  the  Rev.  Professor  Hens- 
low,  and  I  wish  you  all  the  kindly  greeting.  I 
will  tell  you  many  things  soon. 

''Still  faithfully  yours, 

*'T.  COLLEY." 

No.  19  is  a  fragment  of  an  old  letter,  for  com- 
parison of  the  handwriting. 

Mr,  Stead  also  tells  us  that  **they  are  all  press- 
ing and  eager  to  make  those  loved  ones  mourning 
them  here  realize  they  are  not  dead."*  As  Sir 
Oliver  Lodge  wrote  in  a  message  to  the  bereaved : 
**They  would  like  their  friends  and  loved  ones  to 
recognize  that,  and  not  to  mourn  unduly,  "t 

On  the  other  hand  there  is  a  peculiar  trait  men- 
tioned, as  characterizing  many  on  the  other  side 
for  the  spirits  tell  us  that  what  afflicts  so  many 
spirits  is,  that  they  are  continually  enduring  a 
longing  for  at  first  the  lost  things  of  this  life; 
which  they  miss  so  much  when  they  have  left  it.t 

'Nash's  Magazine,  November,  1916  (p.  163).  -j-Bavwond 
(Mothuen  &  (Jo.).  XAftcr  Death,  by  "Julia,"  p.  12.  This  if 
corrritborateil  by  the  writer  of  Christ  ui  You;  and  he  intimates 
a  reason  for  it;  that  it  is  far  more  difTicnlt  to  amend  a  damaged 
life  on   the  other  side,  than   on   this  earth. 


26  THE  PASSING  OVER 

We  are,  however,  warned  against  this,  both  by 
Christ  and  His  apostles.  Our  Lord  began  by  say- 
ing to  Thomas,  who  exclaimed  "My  Lord  and  my 
God,"  on  seeing  Him  after  His  resurrection: 
''Because  thou  hast  seen  Me,  hast  thou  believed! 
Blessed  are  those  who  have  not  seen  and  yet  have 
believed."* 

So  St.  Peter  says  to  his  readers :  *' Ye,  whom,  not 
having  seen,  ye  love;  on  Whom,  though  now  ye 
see  Him  not,  yet  having  faith  ye  rejoice  greatly." 

Similarly  St.  Paul  says:  *'We  look  not  at  the 
things  which  are  seen,  for  things  which  are  seen 
are  temporal,  but  the  things  which  are  not  seen 
are  eternal." 

In  other  words,  the  true  Christian  looks  forward 
to  the  future,  and  is  never  disappointed. 

St.  Paul's  meaning  is  clear.  He  does  not  con- 
demn the  things  of  this  life ;  but  he  would  condemn 
the  very  thing  which  our  spirits  also  bid  us  not  to 
set  too  high  a  value  upon,  i.e.,  to  have  an  over- 
estimation  of  terrestrial  things.  If  we  do  so  esti- 
mate them,  then,  when  we  are  taken  away  from 
them,  the  loss  is  naturally  bewailed. 

In  other  words,  there  has  been  no  sufficient 
preparation  or  "self -adaptation"  for  the  changed 
conditions  of  life,  which  we  shall  discover  when 
it  is  too  late  for  us  to  be  prepared. 

Therefore,  if  a  man  will  not  hegin  to  fit  himself 
for  the  next  world,  while  living  in  this  one,  i.e.,  if 
he  will  make  no  effort  to  ada^t  and  befit  himself 


THE  PASSING  OVER  27 

for  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven,  he  will  join  the  dis- 
contented crowd  and  suffer  mentally  accordingly. 

We  may  here  see  the  significance  of  the  last 
verse  of  St.  Paul's  "Psalm  of  Love"*.  "Now  we 
see  as  in  a  mirror,  darkly,  but  then  face  to  face. 
.  ,  .  But  now  abideth  Faith,  Hope  and  Love,  but 
the  greatest  of  these  is  Love.'' 

The  man  who  spends  his  life  upon  himself,  has 
no  love  in  the  religious  sense;  for  this  is  simply 
an  Enthusiasm  for  helping  and  doing  good  to 
others. 

The  persistently  selfish  man  cannot  realize  that 
it  is  "more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive";  nor 
does  he  understand  what  it  is  "to  prefer  one 
another  in  honor,"  nor  that  the  highest  motive  is : 
"Whatsoever  ye  do  for  the  least  of  My  brethren 
ye  do  it  unto  Me." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  self-sacrificing  Nurse, 
Doctor,  or  "Tommy,"  wlio  risk  their  lives  in  sav- 
ing lives,  do  see,  for  to  save  a  soul  alive  gives  joy 
to  them  here,  as  it  does  to  save  it  spiritually  to  the 
angels  in  Heaven. 

Agape,  the  Greek  word  for  "love"  here,  is  a 
foretaste  of  love  hereafter,  which  rules  the  spirit- 
world  ;  and  if  one  will  not  believe  it  here ;  neither 
is  he  likely  to  enjoy  it  in  the  future. 

But  there  is  always  Hope,  as  well  as  Faith,  that 
he  will  awaken  to  the  truth;  and  learn  then  that 
Agape  is  unselfishness.  It  is  practical,  and  that  is 
why  it  is  the  greatest  of  all  virtues.  Nothing  can 


28  THE  PASSING  OVER 

surpass  the  ''Enthusiasm  of  Humanity."  That  is 
the  Christian  Religion*. 

With  regard  to  our  reception  on  the  other  side, 
Mr.  Heslop  writes  as  follows :  ''In  this  Homeland 
our  occupations  are  very  varied.  Part  of  our  work 
is  to  help  and  teach  those  who  come  here,  ignorant 
of  all  spiritual  life.  When  they  pass  from  earth 
they  are  often  confused  when  they  wake  up,  so  we 
go  to  them  and  help  them  to  realize  where  they 
are.  Everything  being  entirely  spiritual  here,  if 
they  have  no  spiritual  insight,  they  see  no  beauty 
around  them.  Hence  you  may  remember  in  read- 
ing the  accounts  of  such  waking  to  spirit-life  they 
say  that  they  found  a  gloomy  desert  land,  not  the 
loveliness  at  all  which  they  had  expected.  Now 
when  this  is  so,  their  distress  and  astonishment 
are  very  great ;  and  we  go  to  any  who  can  see  us 
and  try  to  explain,  and  give  comfort  where  we  can. 

"Then,  when  spirits  who  have  lived  entirely 
for  self  come  here,  they  are  confronted  with  the 
record  of  their  lives,  and  the  revelation  often 
drives  them  almost  to  despair.  And  we  tell  them 
how  the  past  may  be  redeemed,  and  the  evil  atoned 
for  and  undone,  and  take  them  to  the  place  where 
they  can  do  this,  and  be  helped  to  a  higher  life. 
Others  come  timid  and  ignorant,  but  loving  much. 
So,  because  they  love  much,  there  is  a  great  wel- 
come of  love  all  ready  for  them,  and  we  bring  them 

*Jas.,  1,  27.     This  phrase  was  suggested  by  Sir  John  Seeley, 
in  his  iicce  Homo. 


THE  PASSING  OVER  29 

the  good  tidings,  and  they  are  taught  and  com- 
forted, and  their  weary  spirits  soothed  and  rested. 
Then,  when  the  pure  and  noble  of  your  world  come 
to  ours,  we  join  the  great  company  and  welcome 
them,  crying,  'Well  done,  good  and  faithful  ser- 
vant, enter  thou  into  the  joy  of  thy  Lord.'  "* 

We  find  a  contrast  to  this  in  Private  Dowding's 
experience.  He  describes  himself  thus:  "I  was 
an  orphan,  somewhat  of  a  recluse,  and  I  made 
friends  very  slowly. ' '  No  one  met  him  on  passing 
over,  nor  did  he  see  any  spirits ;  but  after  a  time 
he  wrote:  "I  am  no  longer  alone.  I  have  met  my 
dear  brother  William.  He  could  not  get  near  me 
for  a  long  time,  he  says.  The  atmosphere  was  so 
thick.  He  is  working  among  the  newly  arrived 
and  has  wide  experience." 

"Strange,"  he  writes,  "that  the  only  person  I 
came  across  for  a  long  time  was  my  brother.  He 
tells  me  that  I  have  never  been  alone.  The  mist 
around  me,  shutting  me  off,  has  emanated  from 
myself,  he  says.  I  suppose  my  loneliness  of  life 
and  character  whilst  on  earth  have  followed  me 
here.  I  always  lived  in  books,  they  were  my  real 
world.! 

"I  begin  to  see  now  that  my  type  of  mind  would 
find  itself  isolated^  or  rather  would  emanate  iso- 
lation, when  loosed  from  earthly  trammels.  I 
shall  remain  near  earth  conditions  whilst  learning 
lessons  I  refused  to  learn  before.! 

'Speaking  Across  the  Border-line,  p.  74,  f.  jfOp.  cit.,  p.  22. 
ifLikc  "Julia"  and  others,  all  have  to  learn  the  duties  required 
by  the  laws  of  the  Spirit  world. 


30  THE  PASSING  OVER 

''It  is  dangerous  to  live  to  and  for  oneself.  Tell 
this  to  my  fellows  with  emphasis.  ...  I  cannot 
remember  doing  anything  really  worth  while. 
I  never  looked  outside  myself. ' ' 

All  Spirits  confirm  this  fact,  that  each  of  us  is 
responsible  for  his  or  her  own  special  conditions 
on  the  other  side. 

"Each  of  us,"  he  writes,  ** creates  his  own  pur- 
gatorial conditions.  If  I  had  my  time  over  again, 
how  differently  I  should  live  my  life !  I  erred,  for  I 
neither  lived  enough  among  my  fellow-men  nor 
interested  myself  sufficiently  in  their  affairs. 
Well,  I  have  created  my  own  purgatory.  I  must 
live  it  through  somehow.  Good  night." 

Vice-Admiral  W.  Osborne  Moore,  in  his  book 
Glimpses  of  the  Next  State,  has  a  long  Appendix 
on  ''Waking  the  so-called  Dead."  He  gives 
twelve  reports  of  seances  held  with  the  express 
object  of  helping  the  so-called  "dead"  to  realize 
their  position,  and  thus  assisting  them  to  pass 
naturally  into  spirit-life.  It  often  happens  that 
they  cannot  at  all  understand  at  first  that  they  are 
not  still  on  earth,  especially  when  an  accidental, 
sudden  death  has  occurred.  The  spirits  were  often 
identified  on  enquiries  being  made  about  them. 
The  reports  given  are  verbatim  conversations 
taken  down  by  a  stenographer  at  the  time. 

Mr.  Heslop  and  other  spirit  controls  speak  of 
beautiful  flowers  on  the  other  side. 

The  photograph.  No.  25,  is  of  the  Ven.  Arch- 
deacon Colley,  who  is  seen  standing  in  the  midst 


THE  PASSING  OVER  31 

of  what  look  like  our  Scarborough  Lilies.  It  will 
be  observed  that  the  flowers  are  arranged  iii  a 
circular  manner,  his  head  appearing  through  the 
middle  of  one  flower,  two  buds  stand  erect,  and 
are  transparent,  for  his  hat  can  be  traced  through 
the  lower  part  of  the  flower-buds :  the  size  of  the 
flower,  spread  open,  the  lowermost  is  in  circum- 
ference as  large  as  his  head  and  hat  together ! 

They  were  quite  invisible  to  him  as  he  stood  for 
his  portrait.  He  writes  at  the  back  of  the  plate  I 
possess : — ' '  This  psychic  photograph  was  taken  on 
December  22nd,  19i9,  on  my  owai  slide.  I  devel- 
oped it  and  found  that  my  late  wife  'Lily'  had  thus 
again  been  invisibly  present  with  me,  as  in  the 
drawing  of  a  lily  in  her  psychograph  to  me  on 
March  9,  1909 ;  so  making  this  the  second  symbol 
of  her  botanical  name  by  which  she  was  known 
and  last  called  by  me  in  Natal  over  thirty  years 
ago." 

Our  Lord  bids  us  observe  *'how  the  lilies  of  the 
field  grow,"  and  drew  a  potent  lesson  from  them; 
so  we  shall  be  able  to  obey  His  wish  on  the  other 
side  of  the  veil,  as  well  as  on  earth. 

Darwin  was  the  first  to  draw  our  attention  to 
the  way  by  which  animals  can  change  their  struc- 
ture in  order  to  adapt  themselves  to  "changed 
conditions  of  life."  He  tells  us  that  he  discovered 
a  rat  of  the  Old  World  kind,  i.e.,  our  common  one, 
in  an  island  of  the  Galapagos,  off  the  West  Coast 
of  South  America,  in  1835.  He  wrote:  "I  can 
hardly  doubt  that  this  rat  is  merely  a  variety,  pro- 
duced by  the  new  and  peculiar  climate  and  food, 


32  THE  PASSING  OVEE 

to  which  it  has  been  subjected."*  In  Ascension  he 
found  two  more  varieties :  "One  is  of  a  black  color, 
with  fine  glossy  fur  and  lives  on  the  grassy  sum- 
mit ;  the  other  is  brown  and  less  glossy,  and  lives 
near  the  sea."  He  then  repeats  what  he  had  said 
before — that  they  must  have  "varied  from  the 
effect  of  the  new  conditions  to  which  they  have 
been  exposed,  "t 

Our  late  great  botanist,  Mr.  G.  Bentham,  de- 
scribes the  water-buttercup  or  Crowfoot,  as  it  is 
usually  called|.  "Many  of  the  forms  it  assumes 
are  striking  and  have  been  distinguished  as 
"species,"  but  the  characters,  although  often  to  a 
certain  degree  permanent,  appear  at  other  times 
so  inconstant,  and  even  to  depend  so  much  on  the 
situation  the  plan  grows  in,  that  we  can  only 
consider  them  as  mere  varieties." 

The  late  Sir  J.  D.  Hooker,  however,  in  his 
Students'  Flora  of  the  British  Isles,  gives  us  no 
less  than  eight  well  defined  "species" ;  so  that  the 
difference  between  a  "species"  and  a  "variety" 
depends  upon  the  opinion  of  the  describer.  But 
that  all  have  arisen  by  "self -adaptation"  is  not 
only  a  matter  of  opinion  but  of  experimental 
verification;  for  Dr.  Warming,  of  Copenhagen, 
tells  us  it  is  "external  factors  which  evoke  numer- 
ous changes  in  plants,"  and  he  gives  the  names  of 

*A  Naturalist's  Voyage  Hound  the  World,  p.  378.  Of  course, 
the  change  is  brought  about  by  Life;  quite  unconsciously  by  the 
animal,  or  plant.  It  is  an  automatic  result  of  the  Directivity 
in  all  life.  fOp.  cit.,  pp.  492  ff,  %Handhoolc  of  the  British  Flora. 
%Oecology,  p.  370, 


THE  PASSING  OVER  3 


Q 


eighteen  botanists  who  have  proved  it  by  ex- 
perinients§. 

This  law  applies  equally  to  man's  body,  hence 
have  arisen  the  various  races  of  Man,  as  Euro- 
pean, Negroes,  Red  Indian,  etc. ;  but  no  man,  any 
more  than  a  plant,  "willed"  himself  to  change,  or 
than  a  pigeon,  and  we  know  that  the  many  sorts 
of  this  bird  have  all  arisen  from  the  wild  rock 
pigeon,  under  domestication. 

If  we  ask  how  can  the  numerous  details  of 
structure  all  change  simultaneously  into  new 
forms  in  direct  adaptation  to  the  new  environment, 
we  cannot  answer  the  question,  but  can  only  recog- 
nize a  Power  of  directing,  or  a  "Directivity"  in 
Life ;  in  obedience  to  which  the  changes  arise,  in  a 
manner  we  call  "automatically,"  for  there  ap- 
pears to  be  no  consciousness  of  the  changes  go- 
ing on,  as  if  they  were  determined  by  the  being. 

Now,  we  regard  God  as  the  Creator  of  life ;  and, 
therefore,  we  look  to  Him  as  having  endowed  life 
with  His  own  directing  powers.  Life  is  not  a 
"force,"  as  is  sometimes  said,  because,  as  Sir 
Oliver  Lodge  points  out,  it  cannot  fall  into  line 
with  all  the  forces  kno^\ii,  e.g.,  Light,  Heat,  Elec- 
tricity, etc.,  which  can  be  "weighed"  and  repre- 
sented in  foot — pounds.  Not  so  life :  it  escapes  all 
attempts  to  estimate  it  in  any  similar  way. 

"It,  therefore,  is  not  a  force,"  but  to  use  Sir  0. 
Lodge's  expression — it  is  a  "Director  of  force." 

As  Our  Lord  said:  "Consider  the  lilies,  how 
they  grow."  I  am  here  doing  so,  and  we  discover 
the  fact  that  they  do  for  themselves  bodily  just  the 


34  THE  PASSING  OVER 

same  thing  that  Man  is  called  upon  to  do  for  him- 
self spiritually,  for  the  preceding  leads  us  to  a 
parable.  Man  alone  has  something  which  tran- 
scends all  other  animal  life.  He  is  conscious  of 
himself.  He  can  thi^ik:  *'This  is  I."  He  knows  he 
can  employ  and  direct  forces  and  invent  and  make, 
say,  a  camera.  He  discovers  his  eye  to  be  a  camera 
and  argues  that  Somebody  must  have  made  it.  He 
thus  finds  he  can  entertain  Abstract  ideas,  namely 
that  of  a  God,  that  is,  ideas,  not  of  a  material 
nature  or  appreciable  by  the  senses. 

This  leads  him  on  to  discover  what  we  call 
Morality,  and  frames  Moral  Laws;  and  then,  he 
necessarily  regards  God  as  a  Moral  Being.  He 
realizes  the  difference  between  right  and  wrong, 
and  discovers  he  has  a  "conscience,"*  and  so 
reaches  the  notion  of  being  a  "Spiritual"  being, 
as  distinct  from  all  animals. 

St,  Paul  contrasts  the  "natural,"  i.e.,  the  "ani- 
mal" man  ^^ith  the  "spiritual"  man;  for  it  is  the 
' '  spirit, ' '  or  consciousness  of  higher  powers,  which 
separates  him:  "Now  the  natural  man  receiveth 
not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God ;  for  they  are 
foolishness  unto  him  and  he  cannot  know  them; 
because  they  are  spiritually  judged.  But  he  that  is 
spiritual  judgeth  (discerneth)  all  things."  That 
is,  he  can  see  and  realize  the  value  of  the  "higher 
life" ;  i.e.,  morality,  and  the  religious  life,  of  which' 
Christ  is  our  Great  Example.  Consequently,  as 
the  animal  body  disappears  at  death,  the  spiritual 
body  had  lost  its  earthly  accompaniment  with  its 

*Thi3  is  the  lesson  of  the  story  of  Adam  and  Eve. 


THE  PASSING  OVER  35 

passions,  and  he  is  now  solely  ''adapted"  for  the 
existence  beyond  the  grave.  There,  the  spirit 
is  everything,  the  terrestrial  existence  has  gone 
for  ever.  The  great  lesson  of  earth-life  is,  there- 
fore, to  "adapt  ourselves,"  in  Character  and 
Conduct,  here,  by  the  Imitation  of  Jesus  Christ, 
i.e.,  to  live  in  harmony  mth  the  requirements  of 
the  next  world. 

This  is  why  we  are  told  that  many  on  the  other 
side  long  to  return.  It  is  because  they  find  them- 
selves unprepared  and  ''ill-adapted"  for  the  new 
existence,  and  they  realize  that  they  have  neglected 
to  begin  to  prepare  by  spiritual  cultivation  of  the 
soul  for  the  next  world  while  on  earth.  If  the 
reader  will  study  the  second  and  third  chapters  of 
the  First  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  he  will  realize 
the  distinction  and  the  necessity  of  preparing  for 
the  future. 

Thus  is  it  that  what  we  learn  from  the  Spirits 
throws  invaluable  light,  not  only  on  the  New 
Testament,  but  on  what  we  are  taught  from 
Nature  herself. 

"Consider  then  the  Lilies  of  the  Field,  hoiv  they 
grow."  We  know  now,  and  the  parable  they  can 
teach  us  as  well. 

Besides  Our  Lord's  teaching  from  the  lilies  of 
the  field,  we  all  know  the  spiritual  lesson  He  gave 
us  from  little  children ;  and  how  He  blessed  them 
and  said:  "Of  such  is  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven." 

They  are  not  often  seen  on  Spirit-photographs; 
but  two  are  figured  in  my  book  on  The  Proofs  of 
the  Spirit  Forces,  one  of  a  little  negress  whom 


36  THE  PASSING  OVER 

Dr.  Hooper  saw  clairvoyantly  and  photographed 
(No.  12).  The  other  of  them,  the  little  girl  with 
her  father,  figured  (No.  11)  was  an  adult,  assum- 
ing the  apearance  of  a  child,  just  as  she  was 
known  when  she  left  this  sphere. 

I  have  heard  the  whole  story  from  Dr.  Hooper, 
and  recorded  it  in  my  book;  but  in  brief  it  is  as 
follows:  The  gentleman  sitting  at  the  table  was 
a  patient  of  the  doctor's.  He  said  one  day  that  he 
felt  as  if  someone  was  near  him*.  Dr.  Hooper  saw 
the  child  clairvoyantly,  and  told  him  that  he  was 
quite  right,  as  there  was  a  beautiful  little  girl  near 
him.  He  then  photographed  her ;  and  his  patient 
at  once  exclaimed  it  was  his  own  child  who  had 
passed  over  thirty  years  previously.  It  was  recog- 
nized at  once  by  others. 

This  feeling  as  if  someone  was  present,  though 
invisible,  is  also  mentioned  by  "W.  T.  P.,'*  who 
published  Private  Dotvding.  He  says  in  the 
Introductory  Note:  ''On  Monday,  12th  March, 
1917,  I  was  walking  by  the  sea  when  I  felt  the 
presence  of  someone.  I  looked  round,  no  one  was 
in  sight.  All  that  day  I  felt  as  if  someone  were 
following  me,  trying  to  read  my  thoughts."  In  the 
evening  he  wrote  automatically  the  first  communi- 
cation from  this  soldier.  He  went  to  France  in 
July,  1916,  and  was  killed  in  August. 

Spirits  can  not  only  "put  on"  the  dress,  but 

*Dr.  Hooper  is  not  only  a  medium  but  a  great  Spirit-healer. 
He  was  engaged  in  trying  to  help  a  relation  of  mine  living  in 
Canada,  he  himself  residing  in  Birmingham.  The  patient  told 
me  he  had  felt  as  if  someone  was  near  him;  but  he  had  not  been 
informed  of  the  fact  at  the  time. 


THE  PASSING  OVER  37 

assume  the  appearance  of  the  face  of  a  previous 
period  for  the  purpose  of  recognition  or  identifica- 
tion.* It  is  a  very  comforting  thought  to  know  for 
a  certainty  that  our  little  ones,  even  from  birth, 
are  at  once  taken  in  charge  by  loving  foster-spirits, 
as  we  might  call  them,  and  brought  to  maturity 
with  every  loving  care  possible,  for  such  is  what  is 
told  us  by  spirits  who  write  or  talk  to  us  about 
them;  fully  corroborating  what  Christ  said  that 
they  have  their  (Guardian)  Angels  'Svho  do 
always  behold  the  face  of  my  Father  which  is  in 
heaven."! 

Mr.  Heslop  thus  speaks  of  little  children  on  the 
other  side: 

"In  the  children's  sphere  they  are  cared  for  and 
watched  over  by  foster  parents.  Only  those  are 
selected  for  this  work  Avho  have  special  love  for 
the  little  ones.  In  their  schools  they  are  taught 
entirely  by  object  lessons.  The  teachers  have 
power  to  project  their  thoughts  in  such  a  way  as  to 
produce  living  pictures  all  in  movement,  not 
stationary  as  yours  are.  When  the  lesson  is  over, 
the  teacher  absorbs  their  thought-forms  back  into 
herself.  They  gradually  grow  up  to  the  age  of 
perfection  and  are  radiantly  happy  in  the  beauty 
and  love  that  surrounds  them." 


•In  the  book  mentioncrl  I  have  given  a  spirit-photo  of  ;*^-« 
Archdeacon  Colley's  Mother;  who  had  never  been  photograpL"' 
in  earth  life;  but  she  told  one  of  the  circle  of  Crewe,  who  was 
Jboth  clairvoyante  and  clairaudiente,  that  she  would  appear  as 
"he  knew  her"  many  years  before.  The  likeness  was  at  once 
recognized  by  hor  old  friends  at  Leamington.     -fMatt.,  18,  10. 


38  THE  PASSING  OVER 

Julia  gives  us  her  own  experiences,  after  pass- 
ing over  the  other  side. 

"When  I  found  my  friends  there  were  about 
five  or  six  of  those  relatives  and  near  friends  who 
had  been  on  this  side  for  some  time.  My  dear 
little  sister  was  the  lovingest  and  dearest  of  all.  I 
saw  before  me  the  semblance  of  her  childhood,  just 
as  she  was  in  the  long  years  ago.  When  I  had 
parted  with  her  it  seemed  for  ever.  But  she  was 
only  assuming  the  child-form  to  gain  recognition. 
After  a  time,  when  I  learned  more  about  the  life 
here,  she  revealed  herself  to  me  as  we  see  her  now, 
as  a  spirit  who  is  a  woman  grown."* 

*  After  Death,  p.  56. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  NECESSARY  Pi^EACQUIRED  MENTAL 

CONDITIONS  FOR  SECURING  HAPPINESS 

IN  THE  NEXT  WORLD 

"Julia  confirms  Mr.  Heslop,  and  strongly  insists  on  the  ne- 
cessity of^'^elf-preparation  ^'f};  t^^  TiPTft^wnrlrl — Religion  is  Char- 
acter and  Conduct  (JasTl,  27). -^^e  surprises  of  the  next  life. — 
Oar  permanent  identity. — Like  goes  to  like. — The  "Loss"  of  the 
soul  here,  and  how  to  regain  it. — The  "Oneness"  between  this 
and  the  next  life. — The  apparent  and  the  real  man. — Belief  is 
not  Faith. — No  break  of  continuity — The  "Bridge  Bureau" 
prepared. — Its  value. — "S^  "made  out  next  life  on  earth." — 
fHie  law  of  spiritual  growth. — ' '  The  last  shall  be  first,  and  the 
first  last,"  illustrated.— jThe  natural  law  of  inevitable  conse- 
quences in  the  next  li fey' which  follow  on  that  on  earth. — No 
"Judgment"  from  without,  but  "  self -selection "  by  Conscience. 

The  friend  of  the  late  Mr.  W.  T.  Stead,  called 
"Julia,"  who  held  long  correspondences  with  him 
from  tlie  other  side*,  fully  corroborates  all  other 
spirits,  that  Religion  on  the  other  side,  as  it  should 
be  on  this,  is  based  on  Character  and  Conduct, 
namely  the  ''Christ-like."  This  is  what  St.  James 
meant  by  Religion  when  he  defined  it  as  follows; 
''Pure  Religion  and  undefiled  before  God  the 
Father  is  this — to  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows 
in  their  affliction  and  to  keep  hunself  unspotted 
from  the  world."* 

*  After  Death.    fJa^.,  1,  27. 

39 


40   HAPPINESS  IN  THE  NEXT  WORLD 

''Julia,"  in  After  Death*,  observes  in  the  sec- 
ond chapter,  entitled  ''The  Surprises  of  the  New 
Life" :  "When  the  soul  leaves  the  body  it  remains 
exactly  the  same  as  when  it  was  in  the  body  .  .  . 
the  mind,  the  knowledge,  the  experiences,  the 
habits  of  thought,  the  inclinations — they  remain 
exactly  as  they  were.  ...  It  is  the  mind  which 
makes  character.  Hence,  the  thoughts  and  the  in- 
tents of  the  heart,  the  imaginations  of  the  mind, 
these  are  the  things  hy  which  ive  are  judged;  for 
it  is  they  which  make  up  and  create,  as  it  were, 
the  real  character  of  the  inner  self,  which  becomes 
visible  after  the  leaving  of  the  body." 

We  know  that  "Like  goes  to  like,"  by  the  par- 
able of  Dives  and  Lazarus ;  so,  too,  the  spirits  tell 
us  is  the  case  now. 

So  far  from  the  conditions  on  the  other  side 
being  "Too  much  like  those  on  earth,"  we  soon 
learn  that  they  are  "like,"  yet  at  the  same  time 
different,  whether  for  the  "good"  or  the  "bad." 

Our  Lord  said : ' '  What  shall  a  man  be  profited, 
if  he  shall  gain  the  whole  world,  and  forfeit  his 

souir't 

Julia  echoes  this : ' '  The  worst  evil  of  the  present 
day  is  not  its  love  of  money,  nor  its  selfishness. 
No,  but  the  Loss  of  the  Soul.  You  forget  that  the 
Soul  is  the  thing.  And  that  all  that  concerns  the 
body,  except  so  far  as  it  affects  the  Soul,  is  of  no 
importance.  But  what  you  have  to  realize  is,  that 
men  and  women  in  this  generation  have  lost  their 
souls.  It  is  not  w^hat  we  used  to  think  of  losing 

*A  personal  Narrative,  by  "Julia "  (W.  T.  Stead).  ^Matt.,  16,  26. 


HAPPINESS  IN  THE  NEXT  WOELD  41 

the  soul  in  hell,  after  laying  aside  the  body.  It  is 
a  thing,  not  of  the  future  only,  but  of  the  present. 
Your  Soul  is  lost,  now;  and  you  have  to  find  it. 
You  are  immersed  in  matter  and  you  have  lost 
your  soul !  The  loss  of  the  Soul,  that  is  the  malady 
of  the  Day;  and  to  find  this  Soul  is  the  *Way 
of  Salvation.'* 

' '  Now  I  will  go  on  to  speak  as  to  how  to  find  the 
Soul.  There  is  only  one  way.  There  is  no  chance 
of  salvation,  if  you  never  give  yourself  time  to 
think  on  things  that  are  timeless,  that  transcend 
time,  that  will  be  when  time  shall  be  no  more. 

"You  have  no  time  but  for  the  things  of  time, 
which  perish  with  the  using  ....  You  are 
getting  less  and  less  spiritual.  What  seems  to 
me  quite  clear  is,  that  the  indifference  to  the  Soul 
is  caused  by  not  understanding  that  the  Soul  is 
the  Real  Self,  the  only  part  of  you  which  lasts, 
the  ' '  divine ' '  in  you,  which  you  are  sacrificing  to 
the  things  of  the  day. 

**What  I  say  is,  that  the  Soul  has  divine 
powers  ;t  and  if  you  will  but  find  your  Soul,  and 
develop  its  divine  potency,  there  is  open  before 
you  a  New  Heaven  and  a  New  Earth,  in  which 
Absence  is  not,  nor  Death,  and  where  the  whole 
Universe  of  Love  is  yours. "I 

*  After  Death,  p.  137,  8.  f^hat  Julia  appears  to  mean  by 
"divine  powers"  would  seem  to  be  what  is  called  the  "Spirit" 
of  man;  that  is  the  attributes  of  self-consciousness,  the  power 
of  abstract  reasoning,  hence  the  conception  of  God;  the  con- 
BCiousncss  of  the  power  of  choice,  with  its  consequence  of  the 
recognition  of  right  and  wrong,  or  of  Good  and  Evil.  Hence 
man  alone  can  be  moral.  All  animals  are  non-moral  and  act  by 
mental  automatism.     X^ftvr  Death,  p.  9:  Letter  vi.,  pp.  13.5  ff. 


42   HAPPINESS  IN  THE  NEXT  WORLD 

Tlie  soul  is,  in  Tact,  indicated  by  Character  and 
Conduct,  whicB  makes  the  Character. 

Mr.  Stead  says  he  thought:  *'I  wonder  if  the 
new  life  surprised  Julia  much.''  Instantly  she 
wrote:  "Yes.  I  was  not  prepared  for  such  *  one- 
ness' in  the  life  on  both  sides.  Wlien  the  soul 
leaves,  it  remains  exactly  the  same  as  when  it  was 
in  the  body;  the  soul  is  only  the  real  self  which 
uses  the  mind  and  the  body  as  its  instruments, 
and  has  no  longer  the  uses  or  the  needs  of  the 
body." 

''The  most  extraordinary  thing  which  came  to 
my  knowledge  when  I  passed  over,  was  the  differ- 
ence between  the  apparent  man  and  the  real  self. 
It  gave  quite  a  new  meaning  to  the  warning  'Judge 
not,'  for  the  real  self  is  built  up  even  more  by  the 
use  it  makes  of  the  mind  than  by  the  use  it  makes 
of  the  body.  There  are  here  men  wlio  seemed  to  be 
vile  and  filthy  to  their  fellows,  who  are  far,  far 
superior,  even  in  purity  and  holiness  to  men  v/ho 
in  life  kept  an  outward  veneer  of  apparerxt  good- 
ness while  the  mind  rioted  in  all  wantonness.*  It 
is  the  mind  (which  prompts  or  decides  conduct) 
that  makes  character.  Hence  the  thoughts  and 
intents  of  the  heart,  the  imaginations  of  the  mind 
(which  are  the  moving  springs  of  conduct),  these 
are  the  things  by  which  we  are  judged;  for  it  is 
they  which  makes  up  and  create  as  it  were  the  real 
character  of  the  inner  self,t  which  becomes  visible 
after  the  leaving  of  the  body."!  So  the  publicans 

*Cp.  Matt.,  21,  32.     ■fMatt.,  5,  8;  12,  34,  35;  15,  14;  Eeb.,  4, 
12.     :j:fl-e&.,  12,  1;  After  Death,  p.  9. 


HAPPINESS  IN  THE  NEXT  WORLD   43 

and  harlots  entered  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  while 
the  Scribes  and  Pharisees  were  excluded. 

If  this  be  true,  and  it  cannot  be  denied  that  our 
Lord  preached  the  same  teaching,  we  have  gone 
wrong  in  laying  too  much  stress  on  believing  theo- 
logical dogmas  and  Creeds;  as  if  Belief  of  itself 
were  soul-saving.  Belief  concerns  the  head — love, 
the  heart. 

*' Believe*  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and  thou 
shalt  be  saved"  would  be  true  had  the  Greek  word 
been  rightly  translated  by  "have  faith  in."  But 
St.  James — our  Lord's  own  brother — adds: 
''Faith  without  works  {i.e.,  conduct)  is  dead,"  by 
which  he  meant  'Belief.'  'Belief  is  only  the  be- 
ginning of  conviction  that  Christ-life  is  the  best 
possible  example  we  can  have.  Belief  must  be  de- 
veloped into  Faith,  involving  the  determination  to 
imitate  Him  and  so  live  the  "Christ-life"  our- 
selves, and  thereby  prove  ourselves  worthy  to  be 
called  "Christians." 

On  the  other  hand  we  all  know  the  opening 
sentence  of  the  Athanasian  (so-called)  Creed, 
while  to  "believe"  that  Christ  is  "divine"  is  an- 
other "belief"  which  is  thought  to  qualify  a  man 
as  being  a  "Christian"  without  works. 

As  other  spirits  say,  so  Julia  more  than  once 
writes:  "There  is  no  sudden  transformation. 
You  are  here  as  you  were.  There  is  no  break  of 

•"Believe"  has  come  to  us  through  the  Vulgate,  for  the  Latin 
word  is  credo;  though  "Faith"  is  derived  rightly  from  the  Latin 
fides.  To  "believe"  here  means  to  have  faith  in  trying  our 
utmost   to   imitate   Christ. 


44  HAPPINESS  IN  THE  NEXT  WOELD 

continuity.  You  start  where  you  left  off,  what  you 
are  you  remain,  until  you  endeavour  to  improve. 

*'You  will  find  that  we,  on  this  side,  who  have 
been  able  to  see  and  feel  and  know  that  God  is 
love,  will  also  tell  you  that  love,  no  more  on  this 
side  than  on  yours,  precludes  pain  and  sorrow  and 
the  phenomena  of  imperfection.  We  have  not 
attained,  we  'press  forward  to  the  mark  of  our 
liigh  calling'  here  as  there.  Tliink  you  that  we 
are  transfigured  into  the  fulness  of  His  glory  be- 
cause the  earthly  home  of  our  tabernacle  is  dis- 
solved? Nay  verily.  We  are  as  we  are,  when  our 
earthly  garment  decays :  we  remain. 

"  The  increase  of  this  sense  of  the  continuity  of 
existence,  of  the  reign  of  law  and  of  the  responsi- 
bility of  time  for  eternity,  and  all  that  that  im- 
plies, will  have  the  greatest  changes  that  your 
Bureau  can  make."* 

The  chief  change  (writes  Julia)  that  will  be 
made  by  the  ** Bridge  Bureau"  will  be  to  increase 
to  a  quite  inconceivable  extent  the  consciousness 
of  responsibilities.  **You  may  think  it  strange  that 
fhe  verification  of  another  life  should  increase  the 
importance  of  yours;  but  such  is  the  fact,  and 
you  can  never  understand  the  importance  of  your 
life  until  you  see  it  from  this  side.  You  are  never, 
for  one  moment,  idle  from  influencing  eternity. 
You  may  think  this  is  a  figure  of  speech,  but  it  is 
not    You  are,  far  more  really  than  you  imagine, 

*0p.  cit.,  pp.  100-101.  The  Bureau  for  intercommunication 
was  established  until  Mr.  W  T.  Stead  lost  his  life  in  the 
"Titanic." 


HAPPINESS  IN  THE  NEXT  WORLD   45 

making  this  worlcl  of  ours  (for  yourself)  in  that 
world  of  yours." 

(''You  make  your  own  life,"  writes  Mr.  Stead 
in  a  heading). 

''Yes,  this  is  a  manufactured  article,  so  to 
speak.  You  are,  in  the  loom  of  time,  weaving  the 
fabric  of  this  world.  You  make  your  next  life. 
Yes,  and  you  make  your  life  on  earth.  You  make 
your  next  life.  You  do  it  day  by  day,  you  do  it 
hour  by  hour." 

"The  Law  of  Spiritual  Gro^rth"  is  the  subject 
of  the  Fifth  Communication  from  Julia  to  the  late 
Mr.  Stead.    It  runs  as  follows: — 

"Spiritual  growth  depends  upon  love  and  ser- 
vice ;  and  you  limit  the  area  of  both  when  you  put 
a  wall  of  iron  between  the  spheres  ....  Life 
is  ministry  and  sacrifice  and  service  and  love  .... 

"As  Jesus  saved  us,  we  also  must  save  others, 
walking  so  far  as  we  can  in  our  Lord's  steps  .  .  .  . 
Do  you  think  that  we  on  this  side,  because  we  live 
more  visibly  in  the  presence  of  God,  and  are  more 
consciously  in  the  light  of  the  love  of  our  Lord, 
therefore  love  less  those  whom  we  loved  on  earth? 
I  tell  you,  nay,  it  is  quite  the  opposite.  We  love 
them  more  and  more  and  more  continually,  as  we 
grow  in  grace  and  in  tlie  knowledge  of  the  Lord. ' ' 

Julia,  who  had  been  in  the  Spirit-world  for 
several  years,  and  speaks  from  experience  says: 
"On  this  side  things  seem  so  topsy-turvy.  The 
first  are  last,  the  last  first.  I  see  convicts  and 
murderers  and  adulterers,  who  worked  their  wick- 


46   HAPPINESS  IN  THE  NEXT  WOELD 

edness  out  in  the  material  sphere,  standing  far 
higher  in  the  scale  of  purity  and  of  holiness  than 
some  who  never  committed  a  crime;  but  whose 
minds  as  it  were,  were  the  factory  and  breeding 
ground  of  thoughts  which  are  the  seed  of  crimes  in 
others.  I  do  not  mean  by  this  that  it  is  better 
to  do  crimes  than  to  think  them;  only  that  the 
doing  is  not  always  to  be  taken  as  proof  of  wick- 
ed-heartedness. ' ' 

Instances  of  such  have  been  described  in  the 
war;  burglars  and  drunkards  have  risked  their 
lives  to  save  others;  such  is  the  noblest  kind  of 
Christian  Love  {agape). 

"What  do  we  learn  from  this  ?  Simply  just  what 
Christ  and  His  Apostles  told  us:  Faith  (not  only 
Belief)  and  "Works ;  Words  and  deeds  are  neces- 
sary. Character  and  Conduct  are  the  Sole  Tests  in 
the  next  world,  but  to  be  first  acquired  in  This. 

This  conclusion  to  be  drawn  is  the  greatest 
fact  of  importance  thus  revealed  by  Spiritualism, 
with  the  inevitable  consequences  which  follow  the 
life  here.  There  is  no  judgment  in  the  popular 
sense  of  the  word,  but  exactly  what  Christ  taught, 
namely,  natural  residts;  as  shown  in  the  parable 
of  Dives  and  Lazarus  and  in  the  imaginary  scene 
of  the  Last  Day.  It  is  clear  that  those  whom  the 
King  ''separates"  as  "sheep"  from  those  as 
"goats"  have  become  so  by  their  own  habits  of 
life — Character  and  Conduct — so  that  they  are 
"self -judged"  by  their  own  Consciences. 

Dives  was  in  "purgatory"  in  consequence  of 


HAPPINESS  IN  THE  NEXT  WORLD   47 

his  neglect  of  his  ''duty"  to  Lazarus,  for  he  did 
not  help  hiiii  of  his  own  free-will. 

Spirits  fully  corroborate  this.  I  once  knew  a 
man  who  "lived  solely  for  himself."  His  wife 
once  told  me  she  ^' never  saw  him  except  at  meal- 
times." He  died,  and  our  spirits  said  he  was  in 
"purgatory,"  and  is  still  there  after  several 
years. 


CHAPTER  in 

MAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD;  MAN  AND 
HIS    DUTIES,   HERE    AND    HEREAFTER 

f  Imperator's  teaching  about  God,  and  how  He  is  regarded  in 
Ct^ higher  spheres.— The  fallacy  of  the  "Fall.  "—To  learn  man's 
progressive  development  leads  to  knowledge  and  happiness. — 
Man's  responsibilities  for  Progress,  Culture  and  Purity. — To 
which  we  must  add  Love  or  Enthusiasm  of  humanity. — The 
rejectors  of  Christ  may  be  compared  with  those  who  repudiate 
Spiritualism. — Mr,  Moses'  position  of  hesitation — a  transitional 
mental  condition. — Imperator  sympathizes  with  him,  but  the 
difficulties  of  the  Sadduces  were  greater. — Can  any  good  thing 
come  from  a  carpenter? — Mr.  Moses  now  grasps  what  he  could 
not  realize  before. — He  recognizes  Imperator  as  "truthful,  con- 
sistent and  external  to  himself,  and  that  his  teaching  is  elevat- 
ing";— a  temporary  reaction. — "Can  it  be  due  to  Satan  in 
the  garb  of  an  Angel  of  Light?" — Imperator  appeals  to  th§ 
purity  of  his  teaching  as  its  warranty. — The  Bible  and  Inspiration 
considered  by  the  Author  of  Christ  in  You,  who  follows  the 
teaching  of  Imperator. — The  meaning  of  "Bread"  in  a  spiritual 
sense  as  a  Symbol  of  Christ  and  of  His  Church. — Eeturning  to 
Imperator,  he  speaks  of  the  spiritual  influence  of  the  Bible  and 
explains  the  error  of  the  early  transcribers,  e.g.,  certain  laws  of 
King  Khammurabi's  Code  (in  the  time  of  Abraham)  embodied  in 
Exodus  and  Leviticus. — Tlie  Old  Testament  shows  the  pro- 
gressive ideas  until  we  reach  the  prophets. — St.  John  the  Baptist, 
the  forerunner  of  Christ. 

In  reply  to  a  question  by  Rev.  Stainton  Moses, 
as  to  whether  Imperator's  teaching  might  not  be 
regarded  as  implying  Deism,  Theism  or  to  some, 
even  Atheism,  lie  said:  '' Doubtless  we  teach  that 
there  is  one  Supreme  Being  over  all;  one  who  is 
not  manifested  as  man  has  fancied,  but  who  has 
always  announced  to  His  creatures  from  time  to 

48 


MAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD         49 

i 
time,  such  facts  about  Himself  as  they  were  able ' 

to  comprehend ;  or  more  strictly  has  enabled  them 
to  develop  in  their  minds  truer  views  of  Himself 
and  of  His  dealings.  We  tell  you,  as  Jesus  told 
His  followers,  of  a  loving,  holy,  pure  God,  who 
guides  and  governs  the  universe;  who  is  no  im- 
personal conception  of  the  human  mind,  but  a 
real  spiritual  Father;  a  really  existent  Being, 
albeit  known  to  you  only  by  His  operations,  and 
through  your  conceptions  of  His  nature  and 
attributes.* 

"But  though  we  have  not  seen  Him,  we  know 
yet  more  and  more  of  the  fathomless  perfection  of 
His  nature,  through  a  more  intimate  acquaintance 
with  His  works.  We  know,  as  you  cannot,  the 
power  and  wisdom,  the  tenderness  and  love  of  the 
Supreme.  We  trace  it  in  a  thousand  ways  which 
you  cannot  see.  We  feel  it  in  a  thousand  forms 
which  never  reach  your  lower  earth.  And  while 
you,  poor  mortals,  dogmatize  as  to  His  essential 
attributes  and  ignorantly  frame  for  yourselves  a 
being  like  unto  yourselves,  we  are  content  to  feel 
and  to  know  His  power  as  the  operation  of  a  Wise 
and  Loving  and  All-pervading  Intelligence.  His 
government  of  the  Universe  reveals  Him  to  us 
as  potent,  wise  and  good.  His  dealings  with  our- 
selves we  know  to  Be  tender  and  loving. 

'Spirit  Teachings,  p.  119.  This  book  was  written  by  Rev. 
Stainton  Moses,  being  dictated  by  Imperator,  and  taken  down 
by  automatic  handwriting.  It  contains  some  100,000  words; 
yet  it  is  only  a  portion  of  the  entire  quantity  of  communications. 
It  should  be  carefully  studied  by  all  interested  in  Religion  in  tho 
next  world.     (Office  of  Light.) 


50         MAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD 


(if 


The  past  has  been  fruitful  of  mercy  and  lov- 
ing-kindness; the  present  has  been  instinct  with 
love  and  tender  considerations;  into  the  future 
we  do  not  pry.  We  are  content  to  trust  it  in  the 
hands  of  One  Whose  power  and  love  we  have 
experienced.  And  we  do  not,  as  curious  mortals 
please  themselves  with  imagining,  picture  a  future 
which  has  its  origin  in  our  own  intelligence  and  is 
disproved  by  each  advancement  in  knowledge. 
We  trust  Him  too  really  in  care  to  speculate.  We 
live  for  him  and  to  Him.  We  strive  to  learn  and 
do  His  will,  sure  that  in  so  doing  we  shall  benefit 
ourselves  and  all  created  things  whom  we  tend; 
the  while  we  Day  to  Him  the  honor  which  is  His 
due,  and  the  only  homage  which  His  Majesty  can 
accept.  We  love  Him;  we  worship  Him;  we 
adore  Him ;  we  obey  Him ;  but  we  do  not  question 
His  plans,  nor  pry  into  His  mysteries."* 

As  Imperator  pointed  out  the  fallacy  of  the 
dogma  of  Atonement,t  so  does  he  that  of  the 
"^Fall." 

*'0f  man"  (he  says)  **we  "know  more  than  we 
are  permitted  to  tell,  as  yet  we  are  not  charged  to 
gratify  curiosity,  nor  to  open  out  to  you  views  and 
speculations  which  would  but  bewilder  your  mind. 
Of  the  origin  of  man,  you  may  be  content  to  know 
that  the  day  will  come  when  we  shall  be  able  to  tell 
you  more  certainly  of  his  spiritual  nature,  its 
origin  and  destiny;  whence  it  came  and  whither 
it  is  going.  For  the  present  you.  may  know  that  the 

*  Spirit  Teachings,  pp.  152.    fSee  below,  chap.  13. 


MAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD         51 

theological  story  of  a  Fall  from  a  state  of  purity  to 
a  state  of  sin,  as  usually  detailed  and  accepted  is 
misleading  .  .  .  You  may  better  direct  your  atten- 
tion for  the  present  to  man's  condition  as  an 
incarnated  spirit  and  seek  to  learn  how  progres- 
sive development,  in  obedience  to  the  laws  which 
govern  hun,  leads  to  happiness  in  the  present  and 
advancement  in  the  inmiediate  future  ...  It  is  im- 
portant that  we  should  speak  of  man's  duty  and 
work  in  the  earth-life.  Man  is  a  spirit  temporarily 
enshrined  in  a  body  of  flesh,  a  spirit  with  a  spirit- 
ual body  which  is  to  survive  its  severance  from 
the  earth  body.  This  spiritual  body  it  is  the  object 
of  your  training  in  the  sphere  of  probation  to 
develop  and  fit  for  its  life  in  the  sphere  of  spirit. 
That  life,  so  far  as  it  concerns  you  to  know,  is 
endless.  You  cannot  grasp  what  eternity  means 
.  .  .  Sufficient  now  that  we  demonstrate  to  you 
enduring  existence,  and  intelligence  existing  after 
the  death  of  the  physical  body." 

Imperator  then  briefly  describes  what  man,  as 
a  ''responsible  spiritual  being,"  must  do,  under 
the  term  "Progress,  in  knowledge  of  Iiimself 
and  all  tliat  makes  for  spiritual  development. 
Culture,  not  in  one  direction  but  all;  and  Purity 
in  tliouglit  word  and  act." 

Respecting  his  duty  to  his  neighbors,  it  is 
summed  up  in  Charity  (A.V.),  i.e.,  Love  (R.V.), 
or,  ])etter,  "Enthusiasm  of  humanity"  (Seeley). 

Impc rotor's  expression,  "Knowledge  of    him- 


52         MAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD, 

self  reminds  one  of  a  lately  discovered  "Saying  of 
Jesus,"  found  in  the  ruins  of  Oxyrhyncus: 

"Jesus  saith,  Ye  ask  'who  are  those  that  draw 
us  to  the  Kingdom,  if  the  Kingdom  is  in  Heaven  T 
The  fowls  of  the  air,  and  all  the  beasts  that  are 
under  the  earth  o  ■  upon  the  earth,  and  the  fishes 
of  the  sea,  these  are  they  which  draw  you,  and  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  within  you;  and  whoever 
shall  hnoiv  Imnself  shall  find  it.  Strive  therefore 
to  know  yourselves,  and  ye  shall  be  aware  that  ye 
are  the  sons  of  the  Almighty  Father ;  and  ye  shall 
know  that  ye  are  in  the  City  of  God,  and  ye  are 
the  city.'* 

To  know  thyself,  therefore,  is  to  find  one's  soul. 
As  long  as  time  and  sense,  the  outward  things  of 
life,  the  material  world,  the  work  of  the  flesh  and 
the  pride  of  life  are  all  in  all  to  us,  then  self,  the 
true  spiritual  self,  is  forgotten  and  lost. 

Imperator  draws  a  comparison  between  those 
who  rejected  Jesus  Christ  and  His  teaching,  and 
the  unbelievers  in  Spiritualism  today,  who  scorn 
the  teaching  they  give  us.  Mr.  Moses  writes :  "The 
parallel  is  comprehensible, '^'  and  he  thinks  it  was 
excusable.  He  says  he  is  not  like  having  one  in 
the  flesh  to  talk  to,  but  an  intangible,  irresponsible 
"impersonal  influence"  to  deal  vnth.  "I  have 
notliing  to  lay  hold  of.  As  for  you  {i.e.,  Imperator) 
I  know  nothing  of  you,  even  if  you  be  an  entity  at 
all.  But  on  the  whole  I  msh  that  you  would  leave 
me  alone ! ' '  This  was  written  as  a  heading  to  the 
14th  Section.  There  are  33  Sections  in  all.  Before 


MAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD  53 

the  end  came.  Rev.  S.  Moses  fully  accepted  7m- 
perator's  teaching,  because,  as  he  says: — "I 
found  it  to  be  in  exact  accordance  with  Christ's 
teaching" ;  only  having  been  brought  up  to  believe 
in  the  importance  of  ecclesiastical  dogmas,  he  did 
not  see  that  to  live  the  Christ-life  IS  Christianity 
and  nothing  else.  Mr.  Moses  describes  his  conflict 
as  follows:  *'I  had  in  fact  become  wearied  out 
with  this  strenuous  conflict  between  my  o\\ii 
strongly-conceived  opinions  and  those  of  an  In- 
telligence so  powerful  in  statement  and  so  co- 
herent in  argument.  I  was  torn  by  conflicting 
emotions,  and  undergoing,  in  doubt,  a  state  of 
preparation  necessary  for  what  was  to  follow." 

Imperator  replies:  "Friend,  we  sjTiipathize 
wfth  your  questionings,  and  will  try  to  aid  you. 
You  say  that  the  sceptical  Sadducee  was  better  off, 
in  that  he  had  the  definite  personal  Jesus  before 
him.  Doubtless  he  had ;  but  so  far  from  that  being 
a  help  to  him,  it  would  be  an  additional  cause  of 
perplexity.  He  would  find  it  far  harder  to  asso- 
ciate the  son  of  the  Carpenter  of  Nazareth  with 
God's  new  revelation  than  you  do  to  associate  us 
with  the  supreme.  .  .  For  he  would  see  all  around 
him  the  tangible  and  palpable  difficulties  which  he 
could  not  surmount. 

''With  you  the  case  is  otherwise.  You  have  to 
deal  with  no  external  difficulties.  You  have  simply 
to  battle  witli  intellectual  doubt.  You  know  and 
acknowledge  that  the  words  which  have  been 
spoken  to  you  are  such  as  you  might  reasonably 


54         MAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD 

expect  from  a  teacher  sent  from  God.  They  arc 
fraught  with  a  message,  the  need  of  which  you 
feel,  the  beauty  of  which  you  admit,  and  the  moral 
grandeur  of  which  commends  itself  to  all  who  are 
fitted  to  receive  it.  You  know  full  well  that  it 
originates  in  some  source  external  to  yourself. 
You  must  know  that  no  unconscious  effort  of  your 
own  mind  could  produce  that  which  contradicts 
the  outcome  of  your  own  thoughts.  When  this 
phase  of  doubt  through  w^hich  you  are  now  passing 
has  gone,  j^ou  will  wonder  how  you  can  ever  have 
imagined  that  I  am  not  an  entity  as  real  as  your- 
self, as  real  as  any  embodied  intelligence  whom 
you  call  "Man"  .... 

"You  say  that  you  know  nothing  of  me.  Why 
will  you  confuse  the  messenger  with  his  message'? 
Why  will  you  insist  on  associating  A\dth  that  which 
is  Divine  the  vehicle  through  which  it  is  conveyed? 

Mr.  Moses  tells  us  later  what  was  the  result  in 
himself:  "I  began  to  grasp,  as  I  had  been  unable 
to  grasp  before,  the  tendency  of  the  teaching,  and 
to  separate  it  from  the  individuality  of  the  mes- 
senger. I  grasped,  as  I  could  not  grasp  before, 
what  was  to  me,  in  very  truth,  a  new  Revelation. 
The  messenger  became  lost  in  the  importance  to 
me  of  his  message;  and  the  desire  to  probe  and 
prove  minute  points  of  detail  was  lost  in  the  full 
blaze  of  conviction  that  then  first  burst  upon  me. 
...  I  estimated  the  experience  of  a  year,  during 
which  I  could  discover  no  departure  from  strict 
truth.  And  I  came  clearly  to  the  conclusion  that 


MAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD  55 

the  Power  which  was  in  action  was:  (1)  External 
to  myself;  (2)  Truthful  and  consistent  in  its  state- 
ments; (3)  Pure  and  elevated  in  the  religious 
teaching  which  it  conveyed." 

Mr.  Moses  tills  nearly  two  pages  with  his 
thoughts.  Imperator  replies :  "You  must  bide  your 
time  as  patiently  as  may  be ;  meantune  the  train- 
ing is  valuable  to  you.  You  will  know  the  why  as 
you  knew  it  not  before;  and  impulse  and  enthus- 
iasm will  yield  to  experimental  knowledge  and 
carry  conviction.  The  venerable  belief  which  has 
been  assented  to,  rather  than  accepted,  will  pale 
before  the  knowledge  of  truth  which  is  born  of 
investigation  and  logical  analysis.  AVliat  we  have 
said  merits  the  deepest  study:  We  claim  to  be 
judged  by  our  whole  communion  with  you,  by 
words  and  deeds  alike;  by  the  moral  effect  of  our 
teaching,  no  less  than  by  its  relation  to  previous 
needs ;  by  the  spiritual  atmosphere  which  we  bring 
with  UP,  no  less  than  by  the  imperfect  utterances 
in  whicli  logical  subtlety  may  readily  find  a  flaw." 

Speaking  of  the  true  use  of  the  Bible,  the  Author 
of  Christ  in  You  thus  explains  it:  "The  real  value 
of  the  Bible  is  in  the  spiritual  or  inspired  writer, 
who  has  opened  your  understanding  to  the  things 
of  God.  .  .  Millions  of  people  have  been  lifted  by 
it,  by  their  belief  in  it.  In  this  we  recognize  the 
working  of  a  law  unknown  to  you.  I  can  best 
explain  it  as  the  law  of  transmigration.  The 
working  out  is  as  follows:  You  can  lift  everything 
into  the  highest  place,  until  it  becomes  transmuted 


56         MAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD 

and  purified,  changing  into  very  gold  the  basest 
metal  of  earth.  This  is  the  philosopher's  stone, 
the  transmutation  into  heavenly  values  by  our 
faith  in  absolute  truth." 

"I  am  putting  this  key  into  your  hands,  that 
you  too  may  begin  even  now  to  turn  every  experi- 
ence into  an  opportunity  to  lift  it  into  the  highest 
until  it  becomes  purified,  transmuted  to  pure  gold 
tried  in  the  fire  of  God* ;  and  not  only  this,  but  it 
returns  to  you  a  thousand  fold,  filled  with  richest 
meaningt  for  all  time." 

*'The  Bible  has  become  to  you  THE  Book;  but 
I  would  also  have  you  know  that  God  has  inspired 
men  and  women  with  power  to  reveal,  in  our  own 
time,  even  greater  things,  and  ever  fresh  unfold- 
ings  from  the  heart  of  life.  Above  all  things,  we 
want  you  to  have  the  open  vision  to-day,  for  great- 
er things  are  coming,  and  God  is  doing  wonders 
among  you.  Eejoice  in  the  new  revelation,  abound- 
ing in  hope.  The  new  will  reveal  the  old  to  you 
afresh.  Have  no  doubts.  Launch  out  into  the 
deeps  of  God,  and  fear  not.  Eternity  is  nowt-" 

With  regard  to  ''Inspiration,"  the  writer  of 
Christ  in  You  says:  "Inspiration  is  the  one  spirit 
'using  for  its  channels  many  books  and  many 
methods ;  it  is  ever  seeking  avenues  to  pour  out  the 
abundant  wealth  and  wisdom  of  God.  Inspiration 
is  possible  to  all  men.  That  you  can  from  the 
spiritual  plane  use  sense  or  empty  words,  so  that 
they  become  vehicles  of  spiritual  power,  is  a  great 

*Matt.,  10,  42.  fLulce,  6,  38.  %Christ  in  You,  pp.  39  ff. 
This  is  a  valuable  little  book,  evidently  taken  down  by  automatic 
handwriting.      (Pub.  by  J.   M.   Watkins). 


MAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD         57 

and  glorious  truth.  This,  too,  is  genius,  for  God 
has  spoken,  and  the  ordinary  language  of  time  and 
sense  is  made  eternal  and  spiritual. 

"In  just  this  way,  Jesus  took  the  word  'bread,' 
and  gave  it  a  holy  and  spiritual  meaning.  When 
we  pray:  'Give  us  this  day  our  daily  bread'  we 
are  using  words  of  great  and  significant  meaning 
— seeking  the  nourishment  that  shall  sustain  us  in 
very  deed.  In  all  things  we  are  to  bring  reality 
and  truth  where  nothingness  and  limitation  have 
made  chaos  and  darkness." 

"With  regard  to  this  reference  to  bread,  it  is  cus- 
tomary to  suppose  that  by  "daily  bread,"  Christ 
meant  an  actual  loaf,  and  not  solely  a  spiritual 
gift,  as  in  all  other  sentences  of  the  Lord's  Prayer. 
But  to  ask  for  a  loaf  is  equivalent  to  asking  for  the 
money  to  buy  it ;  and  to  expect  a  coin  to  come  to 
each  and  all  who  say  this  prayer  every  day,  is  to 
ask  for  a  miracle.  Where  are  the  coins  to  come 
from? 

On  the  other  hand,  the  bread  will  only  come 
through  working  for  it:  Lahorare  est  orare. 

Our  Lord  has  so  clearly  shown  us  what  He 
meant  by  bread,  when  contrasting  Himself  with 
the  manna,  and  in  the  Lord's  Supper,  viz.,  that 
while  the  "loaf"  represents  His  body;  which 
stands  for  the  Church;  so  His  Flesh  represents 
His  Character  which  all  "the  members  of  His 
body"  or  of  His  Church  are  to  possess.  The 
Author  quoted  therefore,  seems  to  be  nearer  the 
truth  than  is  the  general  interpretation  of  a  ma- 
terial rather  than  spiritual  bread. 


58         MAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD 

Imperator  gives  an  epitome  of  the  development 
of  early  man's  progress  under  the  spiritual  in- 
fluence of  chosen  men.  He  thus  writes  of  the  Old 
Testament : 

''It  is  well  that  we  warn  you  that  you  must  learn 
to  discriminate  in  the  ancient  records  between 
that  which  is  record  of  fact  and  that  which  is  only 
expression  of  belief.  The  writings  which  give  the 
history  of  those  early  days  are  full  of  inconsistent 
statements.  They  were  not  the  compilation  of  their 
reputed  authors,  but  were  compiled  from  tradi- 
tional beliefs,  in  a  far  later  age,  at  a  time  when 
history  had  merged  into  legend,  and  much  of  mere 
opinion  and  belief  had  become  stamped  with  the 
mark  of  authenticity.  So  though  it  be  most  true 
that  fact  is  embodied  in  these  records,  as  indeed 
in  the  sacred  books  of  other  faiths,  you  must  be- 
ware how  you  accord  implicit  belief  to  every  iso- 
lated statement  contained  in  them.  Hitherto  you 
have  read  these  stories  from  a  standpoint  of  un- 
questioning assent.  It  is  needful  now  that  you 
study  them  in  a  new  light — one  more  profitable 
and  not  less  interesting*." 

"God  did  not  associate  with  man  after  the 
anthropomorphic  fashion  described  in  Genesis; 
nor  did  He  personally  govern  a  favored  nation 

*Spirit  Teachings,  p.  184,  f.  The  above  was  written  on  Nov. 
2,  1873;  the  same  year  in  which  Mr.  G.  Smith's  discoveries  in 
Babylon  were  published;  while  Dr.  Sayce's  Eibbert  Lectures 
were  delivered  in  1887;  and  his  work  on  the  Beligions  of  Ancient 
Egypt  and  Babylonia  in  1902.  So  that  Imperator 's  information 
preceded  the  great  discoveries  in  Babylonian  Literature,  showing 
resemblances  and  even  identities  between  the  earliest  chapters 
in  Genesis  and  Babylonian  accounts. 


MAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD  59 

save  through  His  selected  instruments.  His  deal- 
ings with  man  have  been  uniform  through  the 
ages — intimate  in  proportion  as  man  cultivated 
spirituality,  remote  as  his  animal  nature  asserts 
itself,  and  he  becomes  corporal  and  material  in  his 
instincts." 

Imperator  then  passes  in  review  the  work  of 
Abram,  Melchizedek,  Moses  and  Elijah,  and  then 
replies  to  the  question  by  Mr.  Moses:  *'As  to  the 
Pentateuch,  is  it  the  work  of  one  author?" 

' '  The  books  to  which  you  refer  are  the  compila- 
tion of  the  days  of  Ezra.  They  were  compiled  from 
the  more  ancient  records,  which  were  in  danger  of 
being  lost,  and  some  parts  of  which  had  to  be 
supplied  from  tradition  or  memory.  The  original 
records  of  the  days  previous  to  Moses  did  not 
exist,  and  the  record  which  you  have  in  Genesis 
is  partly  imaginary,  partly  legendary  and  partly 
the  transcript  of  records.  The  account  of  the  Crea- 
tion and  the  story  of  the  Deluge  are  legendary.* 
The  account  of  the  Egyptian  Ruler,  Joseph,  is 
transcribed  from  records.  But  in  no  case  are  the 
books  as  they  now  stand  the  work  of  their  reputed 
authors.  They  are  the  compilation  of  Ezra  and" 
his  scribes  and  do  but  embody  the  conceptions  and 
legends  of  the  period.  The  accounts  which  concern 
the  Mosaic  Law  are  more  exact,  because  precise 
records  of  the  Code  were  preserved  as  sacred 
books  and  from  these  the  particulars  were  drawn 
upt." 

"Both  are  now  traceable  to  Babylon.  -fSpirit  Teachings, 
p.  188,  f. 


60         MAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD 

The  preceding  quotation  is  particularly  interest- 
ing, referring  to  the  Mosaic  Law ;  because  we  now 
know  that  several  of  the  laws  {e.g.,  in  Exodus,  ch. 
21,  and  Leviticus,  ch.  6)  are  almost  verbatim  quo- 
tations from  Khammurabi's  Code,  which  consists 
of  upwards  of  200  laws.  He  was  King  of  Babylon 
in  the  time  of  Abraham,  in  the  third  Millenium, 
B.C.  The  English  translation  appeared  in  1903*. 

The  reader  will  probably  now  know  that  the 
story  of  Adam  and  Eve,  and  of  the  Flood  as  re- 
corded in  Genesis,  can  be  paralleled  by  accounts 
discovered  in  Babylon,  and  fully  described  by  Dr. 
Sayce  and  others.  Indeed  a  picture  of  presumably 
Adam  and  Eve,  or  their  representatives,  with  the 
date-tree  and  erect  serpent,  was  found  on  a  Baby- 
lonian seal  and  is  figured  in  The  Sacred  Treei. 

The  Old  Testament  represents  the  progress 
which  men  made  in  the  conception  of  God  in  the 
most  primitive  times  till  Christ  appeared  to  reveal 
Him  in  the  flesh.  Imperator  observes:  *'Man  has 
progressed  in  knowledge  since  the  days  when  he 
feigned  for  himself  a  vacillating  puny  God  who 
repented  and  was  grieved  at  the  failure  of  his 
plans  in  man's  creation,  and  who  was  compelled 
to  undo  them  as  a  failure.  If  you  seek  for  concep- 
tions more  sublime  and  true  you  will  go  to  a  later 
age;  when  man  had  unlearned  somewhat  of  his 
folly  and  had  ceased  to  be  content  with  a  God 
framed  after  the  devices  of  a  barbarous  imagina- 

*The  Oldest  Code  of  Laws  in  the  World,  translated  by  C.  H.  L. 
John  (T.  and  T.  Clark,  Edinburgh).  fPubUshed  by  Macmillan 
&  Co.,   1897. 


]\IAN'S  CONCEPTION  OF  GOD         61 

tion  and  undeveloped  mind.  The  barbarous  age 
could  grasp  nothing  nobler,  and  accordingly  noth- 
ing nobler  could  be  revealed.  That  is  in  accord- 
ance with  the  universal  practice  ,viz.,  that  God's 
revelation  is  proportional  to  man's  mental  plane. 
The  error  has  been  that  you  have  labored  to  per- 
petuate these  foolish  and  crude  views.  They  have 
been  held  by  your  theologians  to  be  of  Divine  *' in- 
spiration" binding  for  all  time.  This  fallacy  we 
desire  utterly  to  uproot."* 

St.  John  Baptist  was  the  fore-runner  of  Jesus 
Christ,  but  he  was  still  a  legalist.  He  preached 
practical  morality,  in  obedience  to  the  old  laws 
written  on  tables  of  stone;  whereas  Christ 
preached  the  same  and  more,  as  natural  laws  on 
the  fleshy  table  of  the  heart ;  hence  the  least  in  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  was  greater  than  He ;  for  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  within  us. 

*0p,  cit.,  pp.  200  ff. 


CHAPTER  IV 
THE  LAWS  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE 

r^awS  in  the  next  world  to  be  learned  and  obeyed. — Duties 
arc  appointed  to  the  new  arrivals. — We  must  not  be  too  in- 
quisitive as  to  our  future  conditions,  but  there  is  great  promise 
for  students. — The  most  important  Law  governing  the  Here 
and  the  Hereafter  is  illustrated  by  the  parable  of  Dives  and 
Lazarus. — Missionary  spirits  cannot  help  if  the  man  in  "purga- 
tory" will  not  try  to  help  himself. — The  cruel  German  soldier. — 
Purgatory  may  be  long,  but  that  depends  upon  the  sufferer's 
>will. — It  is  more  difficult  to  recover  on  the  other  side  than  on 
earth. — There  is  no  vicarious  atonement  or  substitution. — The 
meaning  of  salvation  is  spiritual  health  of  the  soul. — The  re- 
nunciation of  sin,  not  dependent  on  any  atonement,  is  necessary 
to  be  made  by  all. — A  Psychograph  on  Eesurrection  received  from 
the  other  side. 

All  spirits  agree  in  saying  that  they  have  to  obey 
laws.  Thus  Dr.  F.  D.  Monck  (Adanijah)*  says: 
*'I  am  privileged  to  write,  etc."  So  it  was  with 
Julia. 

A  Guardian  Angel,  or  "guide,"  sent  to  meet 
Julia  on  passing  over,  observed:  "I  am  sent  to 
teach  you  the  laws  of  the  new  life." 

*I  have  reproduced  some  of  Monck 's  writings  to  the  late 
Archdeacon  Colley  in  my  book  The  Proofs  of  the  Truths  of  Spirit 
Forces.  He  was  a  great  friend  of  the  Archdeacon  for  many 
years  before  he  passed  over.  He  always  spoiled  Adanijah  with 
an  a  instead  of  an  o  in  earth  life,  and  having  retained  this  on 
the  other  side  still  does  so.  These  two  agreed  upon  two  proofs 
of  his  identity  in  future  communications  before  he  died;  one 
•was  to  add  the  accompanving  figure,  here  reproduced. 
See  p.' 196  in  "Proofs." 

On  shaking  hands  with  the  Archdeacon,  when  controlling  Dr. 
Hooper  in  a  trance,  he  always  interlocked  his  fingers  with  those 
of  the  Archdeacon  in  a  prearranged  manner. 

62 


THE  LAWS  OF  ETEENAL  LIFE       63 

Julia  and  her  new  friend  went  to  where  her  old 
friends  were ;  who,  she  says, ' '  told  me  that  I  must 
learn  its  laws  and  endeavor  to  be  as  useful  as  1 
could.  The  spirit  friends  had  their  life  much  as  it 
was  here.  They  lived  and  loved,  and  if  they  had 
not  to  work  for  their  daily  bread  they  had  still 
plenty  to  do."* 

'  Similarly  our  "domestic"  spirit-friends  replied 
to  a  question  from  myself  on  these  matters : ' '  The 
Little  Man  is  too  matter  of  fact  for  the  next  world. 
He  will  have  to  wait  till  he  gets  here  before  he 
puts  things  douTi  as  facts.  We  have  to  obey  orders 
and  are  not  allowed  to  say  things  which  we  may 
not  tell  you." 

I  suppose  they  meant  what  I  should  call  "scien- 
tific evidence."  I  ask  too  many  questions  which 
they  are  sometimes  miable,  at  others,  not  allowed, 
to  answer.  Nevertheless,  I  trust  my  readers  will 
be  quite  satisfied  with  the  amount  of  facts  I  have 
accumulated  of  evidence  in  The  Proofs  of  the 
Spirit  Forces,  as  well  as  in  this.  Beyond  that 
we  must  live  in  Hope  and  Faith,  and  all  will 
be  W(>11  with  us  if  we  supplement  these  with  Agape 
or  Love.t 

Julia's  hint  about  learning  affords  a  good  pro- 
mise or  Students.  "There  is  one  passion  that 
increases  rather  than  diminishes  on  this  side,  and 
tliat  is  the  desire  to  know  and  learn.  We  have  so 
much  to  learn  and  such  facilities.  We  shall  never 

"After  Death,  p.  2.  This  latly  had  been  on  earth  a  friend  of 
tho  late  W.  T.  Stea<l,  and  wrote  this  book  by  means  of  his  hand, 
f/  Cor.,  12,  13. 


64       THE  LAWS  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE 

be  able  to  say  we  know  everything  about  this 
world,  for  the  maji'vellous  wisdom  of  God  is  past 
finding  out.  Wlien  we  reach  what  we  think  the 
ultimate,  there  is  a  new  vista  of  marvels  which 
we  see  before  us.  We  pass  through,  and  when  we 
come  to  a  stand,  beyond  us  again  stretches  a  new 
invisible  marvel- world,  into  which  we  also  may  at 
some  new  stage  of  development  begin  to  see"* 

Our  spirits  say  that  the  inclination  to  work  on 
the  other  side  is  put  into  the  minds  of  the  new 
comers ;  i.e.,  presumably  if  it  is  not  there  already 
acquired  on  this  side. 

There  is  one  of  the  spiritual  laws  on  the  other 
side  which  cannot  be  too  strongly  impressed  on  all 
before  they  pass  over.  Occasions  arose,  more  than 
once  while  I  was  compiling  this  book,  to  allude  to 
it,  but  I  shall  repeat  it  here  Vvdth  an  illustration. 
It  may  be  expressed  thus:  The  sinner's  self -re- 
grets caused  by  his  consequent  mental  sufferings 
are  of  no  avail  for  any  mental  mitigation  until  he 
realizes  that  he  has  sinned  against  a  loving  God 
and  Christ.  The  moment  a  true  spark  of  real 
repentance  is  visible,  then  God's  spiritual  messen- 
gers are  ever  eagerly  waiting  to  help  him  or  her 
and  come  at  once  to  do  so.f 

All  spirit  writers  who  deal  with  this  subject  are 
unanimous  in  agreement  on  this.  It  agrees  per- 
fectly with  our  Lord's  parable  of  the  Rich  Man 
and  Lazarus.l  He  prays  to  "Father  Abraham'* 
to  send  Lazarus — ^w^hom  he  never  cared  to  help  in 

*  After  Death,  p.  50.  fSee  Speaking  Across  the  Border-line, 
pp.  31  ff.     tLuke,  16,  19  ff. 


THE  LAWS  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE       65 

his  life— ''that  he  may  dip  the  tip  of  his  finger 
in  water  and  cool  my  tongue."  So  far  from  show- 
ing any  regrets  or  his  callous  behavior,  he  now 
wants  Lazarus  to  serve  him;  utterly  unconscious 
that  he  has  been  shirking  God's  Law  of  humanity 
all  liis  life. 

Abraham  refuses  at  once,  just  as  the  missionary 
spirits,  however  willing  to  help  they  may  be, 
cannot  help  one  who  will  not  help  himself.  ''The 
great  gulf"  stands  for  that  state  of  mental  re- 
pulsion to  repent,  to  which  the  rich  man  had 
brought  himself  by  years  of  self-indulgence,  and 
it  will  require  years  of  his  best  efforts  to  conquer 
it  on  the  other  side. 

The  following  incident  occurred  w^hen  our  own 
spirit-friends  took  the  occasion  to  impress  upon  us 
the  same  law.  The  lady's  hand  suddenly  began  to 
w^rite,  but  in  such  a  rapid  way  that  she  could  not 
make  out  what  it  was.  Moreover,  the  words  did 
not  seem  to  be  English.  On  asking  our  spirit 
friends  to  explain  it,  if  possible,  they  at  once  re- 
plied saying: — "It  is  a  German  who  says  that  he 
has  been  dreadfully  wicked  and  asks  you  to  pray 
for  him.  He  says  he  has  killed  Belgian  women 
and  strangled  a  priest.  We  think  he  cannot  be 
speaking  the  truth;  but  he  really  wants  to  be  for- 
given for  his  sins;  but  we  do  not  think  he  knows 
what  he  is  asking  for.  He  is  miserable  and  wants 
relief  from  his  misery.  He  says  he  was  shot 
through  the  heart." 

A  week  later  the  German  wrote  again,  but  the 
lady  could  not  read  what  he  wrote,  but  could  only 


66       THE  LAWS  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE 

infer  from  his  agitation  that  he  was  still  in  the 
same  state  of  distress. 

I  then  asked  our  spirit  friends  why  the  German 
soldier  (like  the  suicide  described  mSpirit-Psycho- 
metry)*  came  to  seek  relief  from  this  side,  and  not 
from  those  on  the  other.  The  reply  was  as  follows : 

"We  do  not  think  you  realize  the  situation.  We 
will  explain  why  they  apply  on  earth.  It  is  because 
they  are  in  a  dreadful  trouble  and  fly  to  anybody 
they  can  to  try  to  get  out  of  it.  We  want  to  explain 
to  you  that  they  do  appeal  to  us  too ;  but  they  are 
not  really  repentant,  so  we  can  do  nothing  until 
they  are  truly  repentant.  They  have  a  great  deal 
to  go  through  before  they  can  be  really  penitent. 
We  will  tell  you  anything  you  like." 

Another  spirit-writerf  says  with  regard  to  Re- 
pentance and  Remorse :  **I  am  anxious  to  impress 
upon  mortals  how  much  more  difficult  it  is  here, 
than  even  upon  earth,  to  resist  the  evil  influences 
around;  even  although  the  sufferings  are  so  in- 
tense; but  all  appears  so  hopeless.  This  the  un- 
happy spirits  may  remain  in  such  a  state  even  for 
centuries,  especially  as  it  is  repentance,  not  re- 
morse which  must  be  awakened;  grief  for  their 
sins;  not  anger  at  the  penalty  incurred.  A  little 
progress,  however,  being  made,  they  thirst  for 
more,  and  thus  by  degrees  they  may  reach  the  next 
sphere.  But  again  and  again  a  kind  of  apathy 
seems  to  take  possession  of  them ;  and  sometimes 

*CompiIea  and  edited  by  the  present  writer  and  published 
by  Messrs.  Rider  and  Sou.  -'-I  regret  I  have  lost  the  reference 
to  this  quotation,  and  apologize  to  the  author  for  entering  it  here. 


THE  LAWS  OF  ETEENAL  LIFE       67 

they  even  retrograde,  so  that  the  progress  through 
the  lower  spheres  is  generally  very  lengthened. '^ 

But  good  spirits  are  untiring  in  their  efforts  to 
help  these  wretched  ones.  Their  Love  is  insatiable 
in  the  cause  of  salvation. 

There  is  one  short  lesson  in  Christ  in  You*  on 
•'Renunciation,"  i.e.,  the  turning  to  God  in  Christ 
from  sin.  Like  Imperator,  this  unknown  spirit- 
writer  has  not  a  word  to  say  of  any  "Atonement" 
or  "Substitution"  made  by  Christ  for  man;  for 
the  changes  must  always  be  done  by  us,  ourselves. 
It  can  never  be  done  "for"  us ;  i.e.,  as  it  is  wrong- 
ly thought,  "instead  of  ourselves  making  them." 

Sin  is  often  compared  with  disease,  and  the 
Vulgate  in  translating  the  Greek  word  for  "Sal- 
vation" used  the  Latin  word  salus  i.e.  "health" ;t 
for  it  meant  the  "saving"  of  the  soul  from  sin. 
That  was  why  he  was  called  "Jesus,"  according 
to  St.  Matthew's  Gospel. t 

"Renunciation" — continues  the  writer — implies 
a  complete  and  deliberate  stand  for  Truth,  aban- 
doning all  else.  It  is  the  step  which,  once  taken, 
opens  up  before  you  the  Christ  existence.  It  is 
not,  as  supposed,  the  giving  up  of  wealth,  posi- 
tion and  friends  to  become  poor  and  desolate ;  it  is 
rather  withdrawal  from  submission  and  obedience 
to  the  prince  of  this  world — the  creation  of  moral 
sense — that  you  may  deliberately  follow  the 
Christ   in   every   thought,    renouncing  all  other 

*0p.  cit.,  p.  112.  fThis  word  is  rotaincd  in  the  General 
Confession:  "We  have  no  health  in  us,"  and  in  the  Baptismal 
Service:  "for  his  soul's  health."     XMatt.,  1,  21. 


68       THE  LAWS  OF  ETEKNAL  LIFE 

rights  over  you.  Thus,  Renunciation  becomes 
Acquisition.  You  lay  down,  in  order  to  take  up; 
but  with  a  great  difference."* 

"You  are  a  spiritual  being  sent  out  from  God 
to  do  His  work  and  will.  The  material  plane  is 
your  place  of  action  and  your  work  commences 
with  the  dawning  consciousness  of  God.  Your 
scriptures  are  full  of  this  teaching ;  Jesus  has  gone 
every  step  of  the  way  for  your  guidance.  There 
are  pathfinders  in  your  midst  to-day.  Follow  Met 
says  Christ,  and  the  spiritual  and  real  man  re- 
nounces all,  to  follow  the  King."  To  walk  as  He 
walked;  says  St.  John,  for  that  is  Union  with 
Christ.! 

The  writer  conclude  this  "Lesson"  with  the 
following  words: 

"At  present  you  are  to  conquer"  the  fleshly 
body,  ruling  in  love,  but  always  ruling.  There  is 
a  beautiul  work  before  you.  Jesus  said: — "The 
prince  of  this  world  cometh  and  hath  nothing  in 
Me.§  These  were  words  of  life  and  power.  These 
may  be  your  words  too ;  so  that  nothing  can  touch 
you,  hidden  in  God,  doing  His  work  and  ^\illing 
His  will.  You  may  reach  the  place  where  you  no 
longer  hear  two  voices,  but  one  only — that  of  the 
living  Christ.  "II 

The  Renunciation  of  Sin  and  the  self-applica- 
tion to  work  for  Christ  involves  a  spiritual  resur- 
rection. 

I  insert,  therefore,  here  a  Sermon  preached  by 

*0p.  cit.,  p.  113;  see  II  Cor.,  10,  5.  -fLiilce,  9,  20  ff,  $7  John, 
2,  6,     ^John,  14,  30.     \\Christ  in  You,  pp.  115  ff. 


THE  LAWS  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE       69 

the  late  Ven.  Archdeacon  Colley  in  his  Church  at 
Stockton  (Warwickshire).  It  came,  as  sho^\ai  by 
the  Replica  of  the  photographic  plate,  as  described 
by  the  Archdeacon  himself.  (No.  41).  Proofs  of 
the  Truths  of  Spirit  Forces,  p.  299. 

SPIRITUAL  EESUEEECTION 

BEHSTG    A    SERMON   FOE   EasTER 

WRITTEN  BY  NO  MORTAL  FINGERS 
on  a  half  photo-plate  sealed  up  from  all  access  of  light. 

{as  we  understand  it)  and  held  between  the  twelve 

hands  of  six  Christian  Spiritualists  for  thirty-nine  seconds, 

Wednesday  evening,  March  9,  1910,  as  one  of  the  many  "signs 

following"  our  Domestic  Worship  of  Prayer  and  Praise. 

(Every  two  lines  form  one  in  the  Psycograph.) 

"  Friends 

At  present  we  would  like  to  speak  to  you  on  the  subject  of  the 

spirit-world  and  the  destiny  of  man. 
The  thought  of  a  future  state  in  relationship  to  man,  has  in 

some  form  or  other  ever  been  opposed  and 
frowned  upon  by  men  of  sceptical  minds.     To  go  no  further 

back  than  the  days  of  the  great  Teacher  Jesus, 
we  find  there  existed  a  sadducean  class,  who  denied  all  future 

existence  to  man.     They  said  there  were 
no   spirits   either   of   angels   or   men;    and   therefore   regarded 

the   stupendous   doctrine   of   the   resurrection 
of  humanity  as  a   fanciful  thing,  and  denounced  it  aa  such. 

In  these  modern  times  infidelity  has 
become    more    rampant    and    positive,    and    has    endeavored    to 

the  very  utmost,  to  confirm  and 
establish  its  most  repulsive  and  cheerless  theories  by  deductions 

of  science.     Not  a  single  science 
has   ever   been    found    out   that   has   not   been   eagerly   sought 

after  by  the  enemies  of  our  common 
immortality,   to   help   their    godless   theories;    which    are    fully 

bent,   if   possible,   on   despoiling   your 
spiritualism   of   hor  brightest  ornament;    which  is   proving  the 

lofty  and   glorious  truths  of  God's 
revelation,  which  proclaims  with  great  power  the  deathlessnesa 

of  man.     But  we  are  glad  to  say  that  every  science 
like  an  advancing  tide,  has  thrown  back  upon  them  their  own 

baseless   thoughts;    and   roiled   onward,  bearing 
on  its  bosom,  its  mighty  and  resistless  testimony  of  the  truth 

of  God,  and  the  immortality  of  man.     The  last  form 


70       THE  LAWS  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE 

of  argument  which  has  assailed  the  future  existence  of  human- 
ity, is  the  materialistic   theory,   or  doctrine   of 
homogeueousness.     Its  advocates   have   asserted   that   man   has 

but  one  identical  nature,  that  he  is  altogether  earthly 
and  earthborn,  that  his  intelligent  mind  is  nothing  more  than 

the  delicate  offspring  of  matter.     Their 
favorite  argument  is,  that  the  mind  grows  and  dies  with  the 

body,  that  it  is  infantile  with  the  infant 
body,  and  perfect  in  the  adult;   and  therefore  it  must  perish 

with  the  body  at  death.     Now  if  man  be 
nothing  more  than  simple  matter,  if  the  mighty  spirit  correspond 

exactly,  in  all  cases  to  the  size  of 
the  human  body,  then,  there  is  a  strong  presumption  that  the 

dissolution  of  the  physical  organization 
is  the  utter  extinction  of  the  entire  man;  but  such  conclusions 

are  repugnant  to  reason  and  fact.     It  is 
readily  granted  that  the  soul  manifests  greater  power,  as  the 

body  ripens  to  maturity,  and  that  when  the 
body  yields  to  the  withering  touch  of  time,  the  soul  often  seems 

to  yield,  too;  but  this  is  not  because  it 
either  grows  or  declines,  but  because  the  body  as  a  habitation 

is  too  weak  and  frail  for  other  than  a 
limited  and  gradual   development   of   its   great   powers.      How 

often  has  some  unexpected  news,  so   excited 
the    immortal    spirit    that    its   very    emotional    workings,    have 

proved  too  powerful  for  its  frail 
tenement,  and  the  body  has  given  way  under  the  strain.     It 

is  the  body  therefore  that  is  infantile  and 
weak  and  not  the  soul.    Such  being  the  nature  of  the  spirit  in 

man,  the  death  of  the  body  can  no 
more  affect  its  existence,  than  the  mere  throwing  off  of  a  gar- 
ment can  annihilate  the  person  of  its 
wearer.    Everlasting  life  pulsates  in  every  faculty.     There  is, 

therefore,  a  spirit  life.    When  the  world's  Creator  breathed 
into  man's  nostrils  the  breath  of  life.  He  beheld  in  him  the 

image  of  His  own  great  self;    He   saw   divinity   assuming 
humanity,  and  humanity  becoming  immortal.     In   the  eyes  of 

God  there  are  no  dead;  all  who  have  been  still  are,  their 
spirits  have  not  been  spent  as  a  lightning  flash,  they  are  still 

living,  loving,  conscious,  and  still  active.     We  would 
remiofl  you  of  a  verse  from  your  hymn  book,  * '  Life  is  real,  life 

is  earnest,  and  the  grave  is  not  its  goal.     Dust  thou  art, 

to  dust 
returnest  was  not  spoken  of  the  soul."     The  spirits  after  con- 
dition, is  a  theme  which  touches  you  all ;  many  who  were  dear 
to  you  have  passed   over,  they  have  thrown   off   their  mortal 
coil,  and  taken  on  the  immortal,  firmly  trusting  in  God's  love 


THE  LAWS  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE       71 


and  mercy,  and  fondly  hoping  to  behold  his  glory  the  very 

moment  they  put  off  the  mortal.     Are  you  to  regard  them 

as  deaf 
speechless,  and  blind?   And  will  such  be  your  destiny  when  you 

make  the  grand  transition?    Is  the   power   of  hope   to   be 
•    blasted  when 
in  fullest  bloom?    Will  the  river  of  life  be  checked  when  its 

flow  towards  the  eternal  ocean  is  the  greatest?    Is  it  all  a 

mockery,  or  a 
delusion?   True  it  is  that  in  the  Bible,  death  is  depicted  under 

the  beautiful  and  peaceful  image  of  sleep;  but  such  repre- 
sentation 
invariably,  refers  to  the  body,  and  not  to  the  soul.    The  moment 

death 's  shadow  falls  upon  the  entrance  of  the  gateway  of  life 
and  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  the  disembodied  spirit  is  receiving 

the  reward  of  its  works,  while  in  the  body,  just  as  the 
arctic  sun  dips  into  the  ocean,  it  hastens  again  in  its  glorious 

career  up  the  sky;  so  the  instant  the  natural  eye  is  eclipsed 
in  death,  the  spiritual  eye  opens  in  eternity.    One  step  and  the 

soul  is  on  the  spirit-side  of  life.     A  troop  of  angelic  beings 
unseen,  crowd  the  chamber  of  death,  and  are  ready  with  out- 
stretched arms  to  welcome  and  bear  the  spirit  to  its  home 
immediately  on  its  emancipation.    What  a  moment  of  wonders, 

one  moment  surrounded  by  weeping   friends,   and 
bleeding   hearts,   and  taking  the   last   fond   embrace   this  side 

the  grave,  the  next  a  companion  of  happy  spirits,  leaving 

their 
friends  wondering  why  this  should  be.    But  here  we  would  say, 

they  know  only  in  part,  they  see  as  through  a  glass  darkly, 

the 
greatest  efforts  of  your  greatest  men,  are  as  the  opinions  of 

children,  and  in  the  words  of  your  Bible  we  say,  "eye  hath  not 
seen,  nor  ear  heard,  neither  hath  it  entered  into  the  heart  of 

man  the  things  which  God  hath  prepared  for  them  that  love 
Him."    Yet  though  the  eye,  and  the  ear  and  the  mind  of  men, 

arc  inadequate   to   the   giant   task   of   grasping   this,   when 

christian 
people   say   that   they   have   communion   with   the   saints,   they 

gladly  avow  their  firm  belief,  of  being  able  to  speak  with 

their   loved   ones. 
No.     Friends,  doath  has  not  really  separated  us  from  you.    Of 

course,  as  far  as  the  mere  physical  relationship  is  concerned, 

it  has; 
but  there  are   spiritual,  holy  affinities  which  it  cannot  sever. 

The    mortal    flesh    becomes    pulseless    clay,    under    its    cold 

withering 
touch,   the    compound   unity    of    man's    disembodied    person    is 


72       THE  LAWS  OF  ETEKNAL  LIFE 

dissolved  by  it,  into  the  distinctive  principles  of  flesh  and 

spirit. 
Yet  while  the  flesh  perishes  and  becomes  food  for  worms,  the 

spirit  lives  on  defying  its  power,  and  laughs  at  the  corruption 
of  the  grave.    Therefore  along  with  us,  you  can  rejoice  together 

and  say  in  very  truth,  "O  grave  where  is  they  victory,  O 
death,  where  is  thy   sting?"    For   Friends,   we   tell   yoii  that 

neither  life,  nor  death,  nor  principalities,  nor  powers,  nor 

height,  nor  depth, 
nor  anything  else  shall  separate  you  from  the  love  of  God,  and 

your    loved   ones.     With   what    a    lot    of    love,    and    kindly 

affection, 
you   look   forward   to    a   reunion   with   your    dear    ones!    their 

forms,  faces,  and  smiles,  are  constantly  floating  before  you, 

their 
voices  sound  sweetly  on  your  ears,  their  well-remembered  names 

are  as  pouring  oil  on  troubled  waters.    You  love  them  still, 
you   cannot   forget   your   sainted    dead.     No,   you    have   known 

them  too  well  for  that,  you  have  wandered  hand  in  hand  with 
them,  through  the  tangled  woods  of  life;  you  have  seen  them 

wrestle  and  strive  with  circumstances  in  that  life :  and  at 
last,  you  have  seen  them  place  their  foot  on  the  boundarv  land 

of  another  world;  you  have  seen  the  heavens  open,  and  the 
angels  descending,  and  they  have  been  bourne  away  from  your 

sight.    How,  then,  can  you  cease  to  remember  them?  But  no 
sooner  are  they  lost  to  your  sight,  than  questions  such  as  these 

come  to  yoH,  shall  we  meet  them,  shall  we  love  and  be 
loved  by  them  again?    To  answer  these,  we  will  turn  first  of  all 

to  the  Bible  for  support.     Turning  to  the  second  book  of 

Kings,   the 
sixth   chapter,   the   sixteenth   and   seventeenth    verses,    you   will 

find  these  words,  "And  he   answered.   Fear   not,   for  they 

that  be  with  us 
are  more  than  they  that  be  with  them.     And   Elisha  prayed, 

and  said.  Lord,  I  pray  Thee,  open  his  eyes,  that  he  may  see 

And  the 
Lord  opened  the  eyes  of   the  young  man,   and  he  saw;    and 

behold,  the  mountain  was   full   of  horses   and  chariots   of 

fire  round 
about    Elisha.      Then,    again,    the    eighth    chapter    of    Ezekiel, 

third  verse,   there  you   will   find   how   a   spirit-hand    lifted 

him  up.     Then 
again,  Moses  appeared  in  a  visible  form  at  the  transfiguration 

of  Jesus  on  Tabor,  while  his  body  was  still  lying  in  a  valley 
in  the  land  of  Moab.    Again,  there  is  Samuel  who  hearing  a 

voice,  said  "Speak  Lord,  for  thy  servant  heareth. "   All 


THE  LAWS  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE       73 

these  and  many  more  we  could  mention  give  proof  of  a  continued 

existence.    And  here  are  a  few  thoughts   from  your 
modern  great  men  on  the  same  subject.    * '  We  think  we  have 
seen  our  loved  one  die,  but  if  our  eyes  could  be  opened,  if 
only  for  one  moment  we  should  see  that  life  was  uninterrupted;  " 

this  from  one  of  the  ministry  of  the  Church  of  England. 
And  now,  Friends,  we  bring  this  little  message  to  a  close,  but 
would  like  to  remind  you  once  again  that  you  stand  at  the 
vestibule  of  an  eternal  world;   so  make  the  best  use  of  your 

time  here,  sow  to  the  spirit,  place  God  first  in  all  you 
do;   then,  when  you  have  finished  your  work  in  the  body,  you 

will  be  able  to  say  with  the  apostle,  "1  have  fought  a 
good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I  have  kept  the  faith, 
henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a  crowTi  of  righteousness. ' ' 
May  the  peace  and  joy  which  passeth  all  human  understanding 

be  yours. 
God  bless  jon."— Easter  Day,  March  27,  1910, 
■'The  smailness  of  the  eopper-plate-like  writing  renders  it 
impossible  to  be  reproduced  by  any  engraving;  while  at  times 
with  onr  greatly  esteem.ed  unpaid  mediums,  in  various  circles, 
the  writing  on  our  usual  i^'P^^*^^  ^^  S''  microscopic,  that,  to 
enable  us  to  read  it,  a  high-power  lens  is  necessary.  And  the 
character  of  the  caligraphy  in  English,  Archaic  Greek,  Latin, 
Hebrew,  Italian,  French,  Arabic,  varies  continually  in  our 
several,  separate  domestic,  devotional  and  private  gatherings, 
in  places  from  twenty-four  to  seventy-seven  miles  apart,  where 
we  meet  as  directed  (St.  Matt,  xviii.  20)  in  Faith  and  Love, 
KNOWING,  from  long  experience,  the  inscrutable  power  of 
Almighty  God,  'the  God  of  the  spirits  of  all  flesh'  (Numbers 
1G:22  and  27:16),  v.dio,  thus,  and  in  other  ways,  permits  the 
Angel- World  to  be  operative  in  this,  and  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven 
to  have  rule  abidingly  with  us  here  on  earth." 

Ven.  Archdeacon  Collet. 
The  psycograph  (Mo.  41)  is  given  in  The  Proofs,  Etc.,  p.  209. 

Rev.  Stainton  Moses  wrote  in  his  Diary  on 
Easter  Day,  1875:  "I  had  been  conscious  of  the 
presence  ot'  a  great  number  of  spirits  in  the  morn- 
ing." After  some  reference  to  this,  it  was  written 
under  an  entirely  new  influence,  though  by  the 
usual  amanuensis : 

"We  liave  told  you  that  we  always  celebrate 
anniversaries,  and  Easter  is  with  us  a  festival  as 
well  as  with  vou,  though  we  celebrate  it  from  other 


74       THE  LAWS  OF  ETEENAL  LIFE 

reasons  and  with  a  higher  knowledge.  Easter  is 
to  us  the  Festival  of  Resurrection,  but  not  of  the 
body.  To  us  it  symbolizes  not  Resurrection  0/ 
Matter,  but  Resurrection  from  matter,  the  Resur- 
rection of  Spirit;  and  not  this  alone,  but 
Resurrection  of  Spirit  from  material  beliefs  and 
surroundings;  the  emancipation  of  f  soul  from 
the  earthly  and  material,  even  as  the  spirit  rises 
from  the  dead  body  with  which  it  has  done  for 
ever. 

**You  have  learned  that  there  is  a  spiritual 
significance  in  everything,  even  as  there  is  a  spirit 
underlying  every  material  object.  So  the  dogma 
that  Christendom  celebrated  to-day  is  to  us  of 
special  significance.  Christians  keep  festival  in 
memory  of  the  rescue  of  their  Master,  the  Lord 
Jesus,  from  the  grasp  of  death;  and  when  they 
erroneously  believe  that  the  material  body  was 
revived,  they  do  in  ignorance  celebrate  the  great 
spiritual  truth  that  there  is  no  death.  The  festival 
to  us  is  one  of  joy  over  the  partial  recognition  of 
a  truth  divinely  seen  by  man :  and  of  still  greater 
rejoicing  over  the  mighty  work  consummated  on 
this  day.  It  is  not  that  death  was  vanquished,  as 
you  say,  but  that  man  began  dimly  to  see  a  vision 
of  eternal  life.    .    .    . 

**The  life  of  the  Christ,  so  far  as  it  was  public, 
was  compressed  within  three  years  and  a  few 
months.  For  that,  the  previous  thirty  years  hsu\ 
been  a  preparation.  During  all  that  time  he  was 
receiving  instruction  from  those  exalted  angela 
who  inspired  him  with  zeal  and  love  for  his  mis- 


THE  LAWS  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE 


7^ 


sion.  He  was  a  constant  communer  wdth  this  woria 
of  spirits  and  was  the  more  able  to  drink  in  their 
teachings  that  his  body  was  no  heir  to  his  spirit."* 

Unless  the  story  was  of  later  origin,  i.e.,  after 
our  Lord  had  used  the  phrase  "My  Father"  for 
God,  it  may  be  suggested  that  it  was  due  to  spirit 
control,  for  it  is  very  improbable  that  a  child  of 
twleve  could  have  spontaneously  expressed  it.f 

I  have  italicized  a  few  words  wliich  are  of  great 
importance.  We  ordinarily  believe  that  Christ  re- 
turned from,  exactly  as  he  had  entered,  the  tomb, 
excepting  the  grave-cloths.  Yet  we  read  of  His 
entering  a  room  with  closed  doors,  and  that  He 
vanished  in  a  moment.  He  tells  us  that  He  had 
received  the  power  to  lay  doAvn  his  life  and  to  re- 
take it,  from  the  Father.  We  cannot  yet  explain 
how  the  change  of  "properties"  of  ordinary  body 
can  have  come  about;  but  Modern  Science  has 
throMm  some  light  upon  it  and  Spiritualism,  a 
great  deal  more.  Science  says  that  everything  is 
compoised  of  infinitcsimally  small  electrons.  Hence 
we  can  conceive  that  the  difference  between  the 
terrestrial  l)ody  and  spiritual  body  may  he  in  the 
(liferent  arrangement  of  our  electrons,  as  between 
ice  and  vapor  or  steam.  Spirits  are  invisible  to  us ; 
but  our  bodies  appear  invisible  or  "shadoAv^y"  to 
them;  while  they  are  "solid"  to  each  other.  Now 
it  may  tentatively  be  suggested  that  Christ  never 
parted  with  liis  terrestrial  body,  but  changed  it 
into  his  spiritual  body.t  That  when  he  appeared 

*0p.  cit.,  p.  251.  fLvke  2,  49.  %iVit  is  as  invisible  as  the 
vapour  of  watrr;  but  liquid  water  and  liquid  air  appeal  to  the 
senses.     So  may  it  be  with  the  terrestrial  and  spiritual  body. 


76       THE  LAWS  OF  ETERNAL  LIFE 

in  the  closed  room  He  * ' dematerialized "  it  i.e., 
changed  the  electrons  from  forming  a  spiritual 
into  one  resembling  a  material  body,  and  vice 
versa. 

When  Mahedi*  was  materialized  through  Dr. 
Monck,  and  further  controlled  by  Samuel,  who  had 
been  the  Archdeacon  CoUey's  former  friend,  he 
offered  him  a  baked  apple,  just  as  our  Lord  ate 
broiled  fish  and  honeycomb.  But  to  his  astonish- 
ment, he  did  not  eject  the  skins,  for  they  fell  from 
the  mouth  of  the  medium.  Dr.  Monck!  He  kept 
them  and  I  have  seen  them. 

Something  of  the  above  kind  of  change  appar- 
ently took  place,  for  as  Imperator  says,  that  Jesus 
did  not  reassume  his  old  body,  but  He  must  have 
changed  its  character. 

When  Mahedi*  sat  at  a  table,  the  Archdeacon 
rested  his  arm  on  his  shoulder  to  see  what  resist- 
ance was  felt.  The  Archdeacon  told  me  it  was  just 
like  that  of  any  ordinary  man ;  but,  when  he  acci- 
dentally breathed  on  Mahedi 's  helmet,  it  appeared 
at  once  to  begin  to  dissolve!  (No.  51). 

*A  materialized  spirit  who  wrote  his  name  "Mahedi,"  pro- 
duced in  my  The  Proofs  of  the  Spirit  Forces,  under  a  second 
control,  "Samuel,"  No.  38,  who  had  been  Archdeacon's  great 
friend,  as  well  as  of  F.  W.  Monck.  He  always  wrote  his  e's 
with  the  Greek  form  of  the  letter,  as  reappeared  in  his  spirit- 
writing. 

The  above  account  is  given  more  in  detail  in  the  book  above 
mentioned,  p.  250,  ff. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHARACTER  PREACHED 
AND  PRACTICED  IN  THE  NEXT  LIFE 

It  has  been  asked:  "What  is  the  'good'  of  Spiritualism?" — 
The  answer  is:  Bj  means  of  it  we  are  assured  of  the  most  im- 
portant fact  it  is  possible  to  learn. — It  is  that  our  future  happi- 
ness is  proportional  to  our  ch'araeter  acquire^.jiL  this  world. — As 
we  have  lived,  so  are  we  on  awakening  iifT^dga^There  are  no 
external  "punishments"  or  "rewards"  awaiting  us,  but  just 
the  natural  or  inevitable  results  of  our  earthly  life. — Moreover, 
we  learn  that  is  more  difficult  to  7indo  the  effects  of  wrong  beliefs 
and  Christless  conduct. — Imperator's  Gospel  is  the  same  as  that 
of  Jesus  Christ. — Illustration  by  Mr,  Heslop. — To  understand  the 
Truth,  we  must  depend  upon  Keason. — We  must  "express  God  in 
our  earth-life." — Purity  of  motive  is  everything. — Spirits  return 
to  earth  to  help. — The  Heart  as  well  as  the  Head  is  necessary. — 
The  "Good  Man"  is  the  "philosopher  and  philanthropist  in  one." 
— All   selfishness   must   be   eradicated. — Christ  is   our   Example. — 

An  exhortation  of  Impcrator  to  Rev.  S.  Moses A  psychographic 

illustration  of  advice  from  St.  Luke's  Gospel.  (Nos.  46,  47.) — 
Spiritualism  as  a  Religion. — The  Golden  Chain. — A  Spiritual 
Catechism,  essentially  Christian. 

It  is  sometimes  asked:  *'Even  if  it  be  true,  of 
what  use  is  Spiritualism?  Is  there  any  spiritual 
'Good'  derivable  from  itT* 

The  answer  is  so  important  that  it  is  desirable 
to  give  sufficient  illustrations  of  what  the  Spirits 
themselves  toll  us  a])out  Religion ;  so  that  we  may 
have  a  clear  idea  of  what  will  be  expected  of  us  on 
the  other  side,  and  especially  how  we  must  live 
here;  for  the  Spirits  are  unanimous  in  insisting 
upon  the  truth  wliich  our  Lord  emphasized: — that 
we  must  prepare  ourselves  in  this  life  for  the 

77 


78        THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHARACTER 

next;  so  that  we  may  be  already  "at  one"  with 
Christ  and  God  when  we  wake  up  on  the  other 
side.* 

As  we  have  lived,  so  shall  we  be ;  there  will  be  no 
external  ''punishments"  or  "rewards"  immedi- 
ately awaiting  us  but  simply  the  natural  results  or 
inevitable  consequences  of  our  manner  of  life  on 
this  earth.  Such  truly,  but  symbolically  represent 
the  meaning  of  the  parable  of  the  rich  man  and 
Lazarus. 

As  regarding  all  who  disbelieve  in  Spiritualism, 
and  do  not  care  to  take  the  trouble  to  ascertain 
wherein  lie  the  proofs  of  its  many  truths,  and  that 
it  is  possible  to  communicate  with  those  who  have 
gone  before,  it  is  hopeless  to  expect  them  to  believe 
that  we  now  know  how  Religion,  or  the  Gospel  of 
Jesus  Christ,  is  regarded  in  the  Unseen  World; 
or,  in  what  way  the  future  concerns  us  here ;  who 
must,  in  time,  follow  all  who  have  gone  before. 
Huxley  is  reported  to  have  said:  "Even  if  Spir- 
itualism be  true,  it  does  not  interest  me." 

All  who  call  themselves  "Spiritualists"  will 
perhaps  appreciate  any  effort  to  put  in  a  concise 
form  what  each  should  regard  as  his  real  object  of 
life  on  earth;  so  that  we  should  now  try  to  avoid 
having  to  undo  much  of  a  more  or  less  mistaken 

*Remember  Our  Lord's  words:  "That  Servant,  which  knew 
his  Lord's  will,  and  made  not  ready,  nor  did  according  to  His 
will,  shall  be  beaten  with  many  stripes."  {Luke,  12,  47).  And 
with  regard  to  those  who  neglected  to  do  good:  Christ  says: 
"These  shall  go  away  into  age-long  correction,"  as  the  Greek 
words  mean.  (Matt.,  25,  46.)  Our  knowledge  of  Spiritualism 
fully  confirms  this. 


THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHARACTER        79 

belief  and  career  in  this  world.  Moreover,  I  re- 
peat, the  Spirits  tell  us  that  it  is  more  painful  to 
undo  a  wrong  belief  after  we  have  left  this  plane. 

In  the  first  place  we  learn  from  the  New  Testa- 
ment that  Christianity  does  not  consist  of  Dog- 
mas, beyond  the  belief  or  conviction  of  the  exist- 
ence of  the  Creator,  who  is  a  God  of  Love,  or 
rather  that  *'God  is  Love,"  and  in  all  that  Jesus 
Christ  did  to  reveal  by  His  o^\^l,  the  Character  of 
the  Father ;  or  what  we  must  believe  of  God  Him- 
self. Not  only  ' '  He  who  hath  seen  Me  hath  seen 
the  Father";  but  "Blessed  are  they  who  have  not 
seen  Me,  and  yet  hath  believed,"  and  hath  faith. 

Imperator  says  that  we  "progress  on  the  other 
side  by  persistence  through  the  instruction  of 
higher  intelligences,  and  by  a  gradual  and  labor- 
ious undoing  of  sin  and  sinful  habits. ' ' 

A  practical  illustration  corroborative  of  Im- 
perator's  words  will  be  found  in  Mr.  Heslop's 
conversations  with  his  wife  entitled:  Speaking 
across  the  Border-line.  Mr.  Heslop  thus  wrote 
by  his  wife's  hand:  "I  have  been  away  on  a  mis- 
sion to  the  "Land  of  Darkness."  I  had  a  sudden 
call  to  go  there,  to  help  one  to  whom  I  was  ap- 
pointed a  minister. 

' '  Your  world  is  in  darkness  when  compared  with 
the  Christ  sphere,  but  it  is  brilliant  when  con- 
trasted with  these  regions  where  I  have  just  been. 
There  are  souls  there  filled  with  the  torture  ot  re- 
morse more  bitter  than  anything  you  can  conceive 
possible.    Truly  must  they  'work  out  their  own 


80        THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHAEACTER 

salvation  with  strong  crying  and  many  tears.' 
And  we  go  to  carry  comfort  to  them.  To  speak  of 
the  love  of  the  Divine  Saviour,  which"  alone  can 
lead  them  out  of  darkness  into  His  glorious 
light."* 

Now  to  proceed  in  our  enquiry  upon  Religion. — 
Imperator  says  very  truly  that  "man  must  judge 
according  to  the  light  of  Reason!  that  is  in  him. 
That  is  the  ultimate  standard,  and  the  progressive 
soul  will  receive  what  the  ignorant  or  prejudiced 
will  reject.  God's  truth  is  forced  on  no  man.  He 
offers,  and  they  who  are  prepared  receive,  the 
message.   The  ignorant  and  unfit  reject  it."i 

"As  the  soul  lives  on  this  earth,  so  does  it  go  to 
the  Spirit-life.  Its  tastes,  its  predilections,  its 
habits,  its  antipathies,  they  are  all  with  it  still. 
It  is  not  changed,  save  in  the  accident  of  being 
freed  from  the  body  .  .  .  The  soul's  Character 
has  been  a  daily,  hourly  growth.  It  has  been  a 
weaving  into  the  nature  of  the  spirit  that  which 
becomes  part  of  itself,  identified  with  its  nature 
inseparable  from  its  character.  It  is  no  more  pos- 
sible that  that  character  should  be  undone,  save 
hy  the  slow  process  of  obliteration,  than  that  the 
woven  fabric  should  be  rudely  cut  and  the  threads 
remain  intact." 

Mr.  Heslop,  as  well  as  "Julia"  and  others,  all 
speak  of  the  same  necessity  of  living  the  Christ- 

*0p.  eit.,  p.  29.  This  is  a  hint  that  there  was  no  "Atonement" 
upon  which  the  sinner  can  rely.  See  the  Appendix  to  Mr. 
Heslop 's  book.  fSee  I  Thess.,  5,  2,  f  .  "Prove  all  things;  hold 
fast  that  which  is  good";  "being  always  ready  to  give  answers 
to  every  man  that  asketh  you  a  reason  concerning  the  hope  that 
is  in  you."    (7  Pet.,  3,  15.)    ^OP-  cit.,  p.  11,  ff. 


THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHAEACTER        81 

life  here,  to  be  sure  of  happiness  hereafter;  for 
such  is  "Religion,"  or  Christianity. 

"You  hardly  realize,"  writes  Mr.  Heslop  ,"that 
you  have  power  (on  earth)  to  "express  God"  in 
your  lives.  The  acts  and  deeds  which  I  had  thought 
good,  and  of  which  I  was  rather  proud,  were  not 
regarded  here ;  but  some  little  word  or  deed  almost 
forgotten,  stood  out  clear  and  distinct.  It  was  the 
purity  of  motive  that  gave  it  value,  nothing  else. 
Remember  that  you  are  building  your  home  in 
Paradise  all  the  time  you  dwell  on  earth.  It  is  the 
outer  expression  of  your  thought.  All  spiritual  and 
beautiful  thought  produces  beautiful  surround- 
ings; so  that  as  you  walk  about  here,  you  can 
gauge  the  spiritual  quality  of  the  inhabitant  by  the 
beauty  of  his  dwelling.  There  are  no  mysteries  in 
Paradise,  all  is  open,  and  every  secret  thought  is 
kno-wn." 

The  following  extract  confirms  Imperator's  as- 
sertion. 

Spirits  have  sometimes  said  they  like  to  come 
and  conmiunicate  with  us ;  and  the  writer  of  Christ 
in  You  adds  a  remarkable  sentence:  "Since  the 
mind  is  the  seat  of  pain,  do  you  not  see  that  unless 
you  have  the  mind  of  Christ,  you  cannot  acquire 
it  by  freedom  of  the  body  of  flesh  only?  It  is 
more  difficult  to  conquer  on  the  plane  of  spirit; 
in  fact  you  may  long  to  come  back !  Just  where  you 
are  is  the  place  to  learn;  therefore,  we  who  love 
you  come  to  help  you  at  your  present  stage,  not 
only  for  your  own  sake,  but  in  order  that  the  great 


82        THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHAEACTER 

Self,  of  which  you  are  a  part,  may  not  be  ignor- 
antly  hidden. 

''Begin  by  opposing  sense  suggestions.  You  are 
not  born  to  suffer  and  decay,  but  are  here  for  a 
purpose.  There  is  a  reason  for  ^your  place  in  the 
great  plan  of  life,  and  no  one  else  can  do  your 
work.  Reject  the  suggestion  that  your  environ- 
ment makes  triumph  impossible.  These  very  con- 
ditions can  be  made  steps  of  ascent,  you  can  begin 
now  to  readjust  your  life  .  .  .  You  will  find  that 
this  is  the  very  opportunity  for  the  higher  self  to 
speak.  Many  join  with  us  as  you  read  these  words 
in  prayer  and  strong  encouragement  that  you  fail 
not.  Begin,  as  we  suggest,  in  the  simplest  way, 
to  realize  that  it  is  God  that  worketh  in  you  to 
will  and  to  work  for  His  good  pleasure." 

As  a  Heading  to  Section  II.,  Rev.  Stainton 
Moses  writes:  "Much  was  made  of  the  heart  as 
well  as  of  the  head  and  the  orderly  development 
of  the  whole  powers  of  the  body,  intellect  and  af- 
fection were  insisted  upon.  It  was  said  that  want 
of  balance  was  a  great  cause  of  retrogression,  or 
of  inability  at  any  rate  to  progress." 

*'I  suggested"  (Mr.  Moses  adds)  "the  philan- 
thropist as  the  man  who  came  nearest  to  the 
ideal. ' '  The  reply  was  as  follows : 

"The  true  philanthropist  is  he  who  grows  likest 
God  every  hour.  He  is  enlarging  by  constant 
exercise  the  sympathies  which  are  eternal  and 
undying,  and  in  the  perpetual  exercise  of  which 
man  finds  increasing  happiness.   The  philanthro- 


THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHAEACTER        83 

pist  and  the  philosopher,  the  man  who  loves 
mankind,  and  the  man  who  loves  knowledge  for 
its  own  sake,  these  are  God's  jewels  of  priceless 
value,  and  of  boundless  promise." 

"The  philosopher,  hampered  by  no  theories  of 
what  ought  to  be,  bound  by  no  subservience  to 
sectarian  opinion,  to  the  dogmas  of  a  special 
school,  free  from  prejudice,  receptive  of  truth, 
whatever  that  truth  may  be,  so  it  be  proven — he 
seeks  into  the  mysteries  of  Divine  wisdom  and 
searching,  finds  his  happiness.  He  need  have  no 
fear  of  exhausting  the  treasures,  they  are  without 
end.  His  joy  throughout  life  shall  be  to  gather  ever 
richer  stories  of  knowledge,  truer  ideas  of  God. 

"The  union  of  these  two — the  philosopher  and 
the  philanthropist — makes  the  perfect  man.  Those 
who  unite  the  two,  progress  further  than  spirits 
who  progress  alone." 

Just  as  St.  James  identified  "Religion"  with 
Character  and  Conduct,  so  Imperator  thus  depicts 
the  ideal  character  to  be  striven  for  in  this  life 
to  be  acquired  in  full  in  the  life  to  come. 

With  regard  to  the  preceding  description,  Mr. 
Stainton  Moses  replied  to  Imperator:  ''But  you 
have  described  a  perfect  character/'  He  replied: 
"We  must  eradicate  selfishness  in  all  its  many 
forms.  There  must  be  no  obtruding  of  self,  or  we 
can  do  nothing.  There  is  nothing  so  absolutely 
fatal  to  spirit  influence  as  self-seeking,  solf-pleas- 
ing,  boast  fulness,  arrogance  or  pride.  The  intelli- 
gence must  be  subordinated  or  we  cannot  work 


84        THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHAEACTER 

upon  it.  If  it  be  dogmatic,  we  cannot  use  it.  If  it  be 
arrogant  and  selfish,  we  cannot  come  near  it.  Self- 
abnegation  has  been  the  virtue  which  has  graced 
the  wise  and  holy  men  of  all  time.  The  seers  who 
bore  of  old  the  flag  on  which  was  inscribed  for 
their  generation  the  message  of  progressive  truth 
were  men  who  thought  little  of  themselves,  and 
much  of  their  work.  They  who  spoke  to  the  Jews, 
whose  messages  you  have  in  your  sacred  records, 
were  men  of  self-denying  purity  and  singleness  of 
grand  and  magnificent  instance  of  the  highest  self- 
life.  Jesus,  when  He  lived  amongst  men,  was  a 
abnegation  and  earnestness  of  purpose.  He  lived 
with  you  a  life  of  pure  self-denial  and  practical 
earnest  work  and  He  died  a  death  of  self-sacrifice 
for  truth.  In  Him  you  have  the  purest  picture  that 
history  records  of  man's  possibilities.  They  who 
since  have  purged  the  world  from  error,  and  have 
shed  on  it  the  beams  of  truth,  have  been  one  and 
all  men  of  self-denial  and  earnest  devotion  to  a 
work  which  they  knew  to  be  that  for  which  they 
were  set  apart.  Socrates  and  Plato,  John  and  Paul, 
the  pioneers  of  truth,  the  heralds  of  progress,  all 
have  been  unselfish  souls,  souls  who  knew  nought 
of  self-seeking,  of  proud  aggrandisement,  of  boast- 
ful arrogance.  To  them  earnestness  and  single- 
ness of  purpose,  devotion  to  their  appointed  work, 
forgetfulness  of  self  and  its  interests  were  given 
in  a  high  degree.  Without  that  they  could  not  have 
effected  what  the}^  did.  Selfishness  would  have 
eaten  out  tlic  heart  of  their  success.  Humility, 
rincfi'itv  ar-"^  - -: -vr'tness  bore  them  on. 


THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHAEACTER        85 

''This  is  the  character  we  seek.  Loving  and 
earnest,  self-denying  and  receptive  of  truth,  with 
single  eye  to  God's  work,  and  with  forgetfnlness 
of  earthly  aims.  Rare  it  is,  rare  as  it  is  beautiful. 
Seek,  Friend,  the  mind  of  the  philosopher,  calm, 
reliant,  truthful  and  earnest;  Seek  the  spirit  of 
the  philanthropist,  loving,  tolerant,  ready  to  help, 
quick  to  give  the  needed  aid.  Add  the  self-abne- 
gation of  the  servant  of  God  who  does  his  work 
and  seeks  for  no  reward.  For  such  a  character, 
work,  high,  holy,  noble,  is  possible.  Such  "we 
guard  and  watch  mth  jealous  care.  On  such  the 
Angels  of  the  Father  smile  and  tend  and  protect 
them  from  injur^^" 

Imperator  concludes  the  second  section  with  this 
exliortation  to  the  Rev.  Stainton  Moses : 

"Friend,  when  others  seek  from  you  as  to  the 
usefulness  of  our  message,  and  the  benefit  which 
it  can  confer  on  those  to  whom  the  Father  sends  it, 
tell  them  that  it  is  a  Gospel  which  will  reveal  a 
God  of  tenderness  and  pity  and  love,  instead  of  a 
fabled  creation  of  harslmess,  cruelty  and  passion. 
Tell  them  that  it  will  lead  them  to  know  of  In- 
telligences whose  whole  life  is  one  of  love  and 
mercy  and  pity  and  helpful  aid  to  man,  combined 
with  adoration  of  the  Supreme.  Tell  them  that  it 
will  lead  man  to  see  his  own  folly,  to  unlearn  his 
fancied  theories,  to  learn  how  to  cultivate  his  in- 
telligence that  it  may  progress,  to  use  his  oppor- 
tunities that  they  may  profit  him,  to  serve  his 
fcHow-men,  so  that  when  they  and  he  meet  in  the 


86        THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHAEACTER 

hereafter,  they  may  not  be  able  to  reproach  him 
that  he  has  been,  so  far  as  he  could,  a  clog  and  an 
injury  to  them.  Tell  them  that  such  is  our  glor- 
ious mission;  and  if  they  sneer,  as  the  ignorant 
will,  and  boast  of  their  fancied  knowledge,  turn 
to  the  progressive  souls  who  will  receive  the  teach- 
ing of  wisdom;  speak  to  them  the  message  of 
Divine  truth  that  shall  regenerate  and  elevate  the 
world;  and  for  the  blind  ones  pray  that,  when 
their  eyes  are  opened,  they  may  not  despair  at  the 
sight  which  they  shall  see.'' 

As  an  instance  of  a  Control  appealing  to  Scrip- 
ture in  order  to  tender  advice  to  one  of  this  side  of 
the  Border-line,  I  produced  an  interesting  psycho- 
graph  of  a  passage  of  St.  Luke's  Gospel. 

I  have  given  a  longer  account  of  this  remark- 
able psychograph  in  The  Proofs  of  the  Truths  of 
Spiritualism,  but  will  here  state  the  chief  facts. 
(No.  46). 

A  photograph  of  the  Mother  of  one  of  the  circle 
at  Crewe  (Mr.  Hope  being  the  medium)  was  pro- 
mised by  the  Control,  and  in  addition  a  message 
in  Greek  on  another  plate,  the  number  (fifth)  be- 
ing selected  by  the  Control;  who  stated:  "The 
passage  will  be  found  in  the  British  Museum  un- 
der a  glass  shade.  That  is  the  only  one  in  exist- 
ence; it  was  given  by  Cyril  Lucar  of  Constanti- 
nople to  Charles  I." 

Before  going  to  London  I  compared  the  psycho- 
graph  with  the  specimens  of  ancient  MSS  in 
Young's  Concordance,  and  found  that  it  agreed 


THE  GOSPEL  OF  CHARACTER        87 

with  the  Alexandrine  MS.  I  soon  found  the  Codex 
Alexandnnus  in  the  British  Museum,  but  could 
not  get  near  it,  as  it  is  railed  round.  The  keeper 
of  the  M  S.S.  Department  possesses  a  photo- 
graphic facsimile;  so  the  Archdeacon  was  thus 
enabled  to  take  a  photograph  from  the  original; 
which  I  have  produced.    (No.  47.) 

A  careful  comparison  of  the  two  shows  that  the 
psychograph  is  not  a  photographic,  but  a  written 
copy,  as  the  lines  are  not  strictly  parallel  nor  the 
upstrokes  vertical  as  in  the  original;  though  the 
same  words  begin  and  end  each  line  respectively. 
The  reader  can  refer  to  Luke,  17,  5,  if  he  wishes 
to  read  the  passage  in  English, 


CHAPTEE  VI 

''JESUS  CHRIST,  THE  SAME  YESTERDAY, 
TO-DAY  AND  FOR  EVER."— (^efe.,  13,  8.) 

Imperator's  cleseription  of  Jesus  Christ. — His  mission  is  the 
same  as  Christ's. — "To  preach  Jesus  Christ  as  our  Great 
Example";  to  bring  about  a  "Unity"  with  ffim;  or  "Christ  in 
you"  as   St.  John   defines   it. — This   is   only    to    be    secured    by 

imitation     of     His     Character     and     Conduct The     Gospel     of 

Humanity. — Eev.  S.  Moses  tells  Imperator  that  his  teaching  will 
not  be  accepted,  because  Imperator  cancels  the  leading  dogmas 
of  the  Church,  represented  by  erroneous  terms. —  (Atonement, 
Substitution,  Redemption,  Propitiation  of  the  Father,  and 
Vicarious  suffering.) — Eeligion  to  be  true  must  be  practiral  and 
not  based^on  barren  beliefs  or  dogmas. — The  Spirit  Creed. — -The 
True  Christ. — Eev.  Stainton  Moses'  "Eegeneration"  through 
Imperator 's  teaching. 

''You  enquire  of  us"  (wrote  Imperator)  "what 
position  we  assign  to  Christ?"  In  reply  he  de- 
votes the  eighteenth  section  of  Spiritual  Teach- 
ings to  this  important  matter. 

"It  is  our  task  to  do  for  Christianity  what 
Jesus  did  for  Judaism.  We  would  take  the  old 
forms  and  spiritualize  their  meaning  and  infuse 
into  them  new  life.  We  do  not  abolish  one  jot  or 
one  tittle  of  the  teaching  which  the  Christ  gave  to 
the  world.  We  do  but  wipe  away  man's  material 
glosses  and  show  you  the  hidden  spiritual  mean- 
ing which  has  been  missed. 

"This  was  the  mission  of  Christ.  He  claimed 
for  Himself  the  'fulfilment'*  of  the  Law;  not  its 
abolition  or  abrogation,  was    His    intent.     He 

*This  word  in  Greek  really  means  the  "filling  full,"  that  is,  of 
spiritual  meaning,  wanting  in  the  bare  letter  of  the  law. 

88 


JESUS  CHRIST  89 

stripped  off  the  rags  of  Pharisaical  ritual,  the 
glosses  of  Rabhinical  speculation,  and  laid  bare 
the  divine  truth  that  was  beneath  all  the  grand 
principles  divinely  inspired  which  man  had  well 
nigh  buried.  He  was  not  only  a  religious  but  a 
social  reformer;  and  the  grand  business  of  His 
life  was  to  elevate  the  people,  spirit  and  body,  to 
expose  pretenders,  and  to  strip  off  the  mask  of 
hypocrisy;  to  take  the  foot  of  the  despot  from  the 
neck  of  the  struggling  slave,  and  to  make  man 
free  by  virtue  of  that  truth  which  He  came  from 
God  to  declare :  "  Ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the 
truth  shall  make  you  free;  and  ye  shall  be  free 
indeed.'  "* 

*'He  reasoned  of  life  and  death  and  eternity; 
of  the  true  nobility  and  dignity  of  man's  nature; 
of  the  way  to  progressive  knowledge  of  God.  He 
came  as  the  Great  Fulfiller  of  the  law;  the  man 
who  showed  as  never  man  showed  before  the  end 
for  which  the  law  was  given — the  Amelioration  of 
Humanity.  He  taught  men  to  look  into  the  depths 
of  their  hearts,  to  test  their  lives,  to  try  their 
motives,  and  to  w^eigh  all  they  did  by  the  one 
ascertained  balance — the  fruits  of  life  as  the  test 
of  religion.t  He  told  men  to  be  humble,  merciful, 
truthful,  pure,  self-denying,  honest  in  heart  and 
intent,  and  He  set  before  them  a  living  Example^ 
of  the  life  which  he  preached." 

*(Jp.  cit.,  p.  14'J;  John,  8,  '62.  The  words  italicized  are 
applirablc  to-<lay,  for  the  Allies  wore  fiRhting  for  Christ.  fCf. 
Jas.,  1,  27.  J/  Pet.,  2,  21.  To  copy  or  imitate  Him  is  described 
as  having  union  with  Him;  so  that  f Christ,  really  Hia  Character, 
is  said  to  be  in  us,  and  wo  in  Him.  (John,  17,  20  ff. ;  also 
/  John,  2,  6.) 


90  JESUS  CHRIST 

This  agrees  with  St.  John,  who  wrote:  "Wlioso 
keepeth  His  Word,  in  him  verily  hath  the  love  oL' 
God  been  perfected.  Herein  we  know  that  we  are 
i7i  Him.  He  that  abidcth  in  Him  ought  himself 
also  to  walk  even  as  He  Avalked."* 

So  Imperator  observes:  ^^TJie  Gospel  of  liuman- 
ityi  is  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  the  only- 
gospel  that  man  needs;  the  only  one  that  can 
reach  his  wants  and  minister  to  his  necessities. 

''We  continue  to  preach  that  same  evangel.  By 
commission  from  the  same  source,  do  we  come  now 
as  apostles  of  this  heaven-sent  gospel.  We  declare 
truths  the  same  as  Jesus  taught.  We  preach  His 
Gospel,  purified  from  the  glosses  and  misinterpre- 
tations which  man  has  gathered  around  it.  We 
would  spiritualize  that  which  man  has  hidden  un- 
der the  heap  of  materialism. 

*' We  would  bring  forth  the  spirit  truth  from  the 
grave,  in  which  man  has  buried  it ;  and  would  tell 
to  the  listening  souls  of  men  that  it  lives  still — the 
simple  yet  grand  truth  of  man's  progressive  des- 
tiny, of  God's  unceasing  care,  of  Spirits'  unslum- 
bering  watch  over  incarnated  souls,  "t 

Mr.  Stainton  Moses,  in  commenting  on  this  teach- 

*Dr.  Westcott,  writing  on  7  John,  2,6,  says:  "The  sign  of 
union  with  God  is  found  in  the  Imitation  of  Christ.  As  the  sign 
of  knowledge  is  to  be  seen  in  the  keeping  of  the  divine  com- 
mandments in  their  unity  (v.  3)  and  in  the  keeping  of  the  divine 
word  in  its  verity  (v.  5)  ;  so  the  sign  of  fellowship  is  to  be  seen 
in  the  copying  the  divine  life.  {The  Epistles  of  St.  John,  p.  50.) 
fSir  John  Seeley  in  his  work  Ecce  Homo  adopts  the  phrase 
** Enthusiasm  of  Humanity"  for  "Love."   jOp.  cit.,  p.  149  f. 


JESUS  CHRIST  91 

ing,  said :  *'It  will  not  be  accepted"* ;  for  one  class 
looks  to  the  "Atonement";  another  to  "Ritual- 
ism"; but  few  to  Character  and  Conduct  as  being 
the  Essentials  of  Christianity. 

Mr.  Moses  prefaces  the  Eighth  Section  with 
some  important  information  about  himself: 
"From  the  standpoint  that  I  then  occupied  it 
seemed  to  me  that  such  teachings  might  be  called 
by  opponents  atheistic  or  diabolic.  I,  at  any  rate, 
should  call  them  Latitudinarian,  and  I  maintained 
at  some  length  a  view  more  nearly  approaching  to 
orthodox  teaching." 

He  tells  us  that  he  was  "trained  in  strict  accord- 
ance with  Protestant  Church  principles,"  that 
he  "had  accepted  the  tenets  of  that  portion  of  the 
Church  of  England  called  'Anglican,'  or  'sound 
High  Churchman.'  "  He  subsequently  tells  us  what 
was  the  effect,  i.e.,  after  some  years,  of  Inipera- 
tor's  teaching  upon  himself.  He  wrote  as  follows: 

"From  this  time  commenced  that  state  of  great 
spiritual  exaltation,  during  which  I  was  profound- 
ly conscious  of  the  presence  and  influence  of  one 
commanding  Intelligence,  and  of  an  action  on  my 
mind  which  eventuated  in  a  development  of 
thought  amounting  to  nothing  short  of  spiritual 
regeneration. ' ' 

Imperator  replied  to  Mr.  Moses  in  the  following 
words:  "You  have  objected  to  our  teachings  that 
they  are  not  consistent  witn  the  received  creed  of 
orthodoxy  and  Religion.     Tiie  Spirits'  healthful 

*Hc  was  right;  for  I  published  a  book  entitlod:  The  /Spiritual 
Teaching  of  Christ's  Life. 


92  JESUS  CHRIST 

life  has  two  aspects — the  one  pointing  to  God,  the 
other  to  man.  What  says  the  spirit-creed  of  God? 

'*In  place  of  an  angry,  jealous  tyrant,  it  reveals 
a  loving  Father,  who  is  not  loving  in  name  only, 
but  in  very  deed  and  in  truth ;  into  whose  dealings 
nought  but  love  can  enter,  Wlio  is  just  and  good 
and  full  of  affection  to  the  lowest  of  His  creatures. 

"/^  does  not  recognize  any  need  of  propitiation 
towards  this  God.  It  rejects  as  false  any  notice  of 
this  Divine  Being  vindictively  punishing  a  trans- 
gressor, or  requiring  a  vicarious  sacrifice  for 
sin."*  Dr.  Westcott  shows  that  "our  propitia- 
tion" meant  Christ  would  "propitiate"  the  sinner, 
by  offering  him  His  Flesh  and  Blood. 

Imperator  thus  teaches  that  the  only  true  Reli- 
gion is  one  of  a  practical  character  and  without 

dogmas  A 

On  the  continuance  of  life  Imperator  says: 
**This  mortal  existence  is  but  a  fragment  of  life. 
Its  deeds  and  their  results  remain  when  the  body 
is  dead.  The  ramifications  of  wilful  sin  have  to  be 
followed  out,  and  its  results  remedied  in  sorrow 
and  shame.  For  there  is  no  vicarious  '  Substitution. ' 

"The  consequences  of  deeds  of  good  are  simi- 
larly permanent,  and  precede  the  pure  soul  and 
draw  around  it  influences  which  welcome  and  aid  it 
in  the  spheres. 

"Life,  we  teach  you,  is  one  and  indivisible;  one 
in  its  progressive  development;  and  one  in  the 
effect  on  all  alike  of  the  eternal  and  inmiutable 

*I  shall  consider  in  a  later  chapter  (No.  11)  the  true  meaning 
of  "Atonement,"  and  the  false  ideas  which  have  been  attributed 
to  this  word.    fSo  also  says  St.  James.    Jas.,  1,  27. 


JESUS  CHRIST  93 

laws  by  which  it  is  regulated.  None  are  excused  as 
favorites ;  none  are  punished  mercilessly  for  error, 
which  they  were  unable  to  avoid.  Eternal  justice* 
is  the  correlative  of  eternal  love.  *We  preach  the 
religion  of  work,  of  prayer,  of  adoration.  We  tell 
you  of  your  duty  to  God,  to  your  brother  and  to 
yourself — soul  and  body  alike. '  ' ' 

The  following  is  the  hnperator's  Spirit-Creed: 
DUTY  TO  GOD 

Honor  and  love  your  Father,  God  (Worship). 
DUTY  TO  NEIGHBOR 

Help  your  brother  onward  in  the  path  of  prog- 
ress (Brotherly  Love). 

DUTY  TO  SELF 

Tend  and  guard  your  own  body  (Bodily  culture). 

Cultivate  every  means  of  extending  knowledge 
(Mental  progress). 

Seek  for  fuller  views  of  progressive  truth  (Spir- 
itual growth). 

Do  ever  the  right  and  good  in  accordance  with 
your  knowledge  (Integrity). 

Cultivate  communion  with  the  Spiritland  by 
prayer  and  frequent  intercourse  (Spiritual  nur- 
ture). 

Within  these  rules  are  roughly  indicated  most 
that  concerns  you  here.  Yield  no  obedience  to  any 
sectarian  dor/mas.  Give  no  blind  adherence  to  any 
teaching  that  is  not  commended  by  Reason.' 'f 

In  Section  IX  Mr.  Stainton  Moses  again  raised 
objections against/mji:)erflior^s* unorthodox  views.' 

•This  phrase  is  applicable,  but  it  is  a  self-actinp  Law.  Many 
acts  recoil  upon  the  doer  himself,  be  they  good  or  bad.  jfOp.  cit.. 
p.  57. 


94  JESUS  CHRIST 

Imperator  replies:  "No  doubt  it  seems  to  the 
unprepared  spirit  to  be  new  and  destructive  of 
older  forms  of  faith.  But  it  is  not  so.  It  would  be 
commendable  to  all  who  are  not  hampered  by  old 
prejudices.  We  said  that  we  must  clear  away 
much  rubbish;  that  the  work  of  destruction  must 
precede  the  work  of  construction ;  that  the  old  and 
unserviceable  must  first  give  place;  that  in  short 
we  must  clear  before  we  build." 

"Yes,"  replies  Mr.  Moses,  "but  that  'rubbish'  is 
precisely  what  Christians  have  agreed  in  all  ages 
to  consider  cardinal  doctrines  of  the  faith." 

"No,  friend,"  replies  hnperator,  "not  quite  so. 
If  you  wdll  read  the  records  which  so  imperfectly 
record  the  earth-life  of  Jesus,  you  will  not  find  that 
He  claimed  for  Himself  any  such  position  as  the 
Christian  Church  has  since  forced  upon  Him.  He 
was  what  we  preach  Him,  not  such  as  the  Church 
has  made  Him." 

Then  followed  a  crucial  question  by  Mr.  Moses: 
"I  cannot  think  so.  And  the  Atonement:  What 
do  you  make  of  that?  Your  teaching  is  pure  and 
beautiful,  but  surely  it  is  not  Christian?  Nor  is 
it  the  teaching  which  one  who  uses  the  sign  of  the 
Cross  would  reasonably  be  expected  to  promul- 
gate.   So  it  seems  to  me." 

Imperator  replies:  "It  shall  be  given  in  due 
course,  cease  now."  After  four  days  it  came  and 
occupied  ten  pages  of  the  book.  It  concludes  with 
the  words:  "We  would  have  you  know  that  the 
spirihial  ideal  of  Jesus,  the  Christ,  is  no  more  like 
the  human  notion,  with  its  accessories  of  atone- 


JESUS  CHRIST  95 

ment  and  redemption,  as  men  have  grasped  them, 
than  was  the  calf  ignorantly  carved  by  the  ancient 
Hebrews  like  the  God  who  strove  to  reveal  Him- 
self to  them  ....  we  would  tell  you  of  the  true 
significance  of  the  life  of  the  Christ,  and  show  you, 
as  we  can,  how  low  and  mean  are  the  views  of  Him 
which  we  are  striving  to  do  away  with.'' 

**  You  ask  how  the  sign  of  the  Cross  can  be  pre- 
fixed to  such  teaching.  Friend,  the  spiritual  truth 
of  which  that  sign  is  typical  is  the  very  cardinal 
truth,  which  it  is  our  special  mission  to  declare. 
The  self-denying  love  which  would  benefit  human- 
ity even  at  the  sacrifice  of  life  and  home  and  earth- 
ly happiness — the  pure  spirit  of  the  Christ,  this  is 
what  we  w^ould  declare  to  you  as  the  Godlike 
Spirit.  This  is  the  true  salvation  from  meanness 
and  self  aggrandizement,  and  self-pleasing  and 
luxurious  sloth,  w^hich  can  redeem  humanity,  and 
make  of  men  the  children  of  God.  This  self-abne- 
gation and  incarnate  love  is  that  which  can  *  atone' 
for  sin,  and  make  man  like  God.  This  is  the  true 
'atonement.'  Not,  indeed,  a  reconciliation  of  sin- 
stained  Immanity  to  an  angry  and  holy  God,  pur- 
chased by  the  sacrifice  of  His  sinless  Son;  but  a 
higher  and  truer  atonement  [at-one-ment]  in  the 
ennobling  of  the  nature,the  purifying  of  the  spirit ; 
the  making  of  the  human  and  divine  ONE  in  aim 
and  purpose,  the  drawing  of  man's  spirit  even  whilst 
incarned,  up  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Divine. 

"This  was  tlie  mission  of  Christ;  in  this  He  was 
a  manifestation  of  God;  the  Son  of  God;  the 
Saviour  of  man ;  the  Eeconciler ;  the  * Atoner'  [i.e., 
putting  man  and  God  *at  one'].    And  herein  we 


96  JESUS  CHRIST 

perpetuate  His  work,  we  carry  on  His  mission, 
we  work  under  His  Symbol,  we  fight  against  the 
enemies  of  His  Faith,  against  all  who  ignorantly 
or  wilfully  dishonor  Him,  even  though  it  be  under 
the  banner  of  orthodoxy  and  under  the  protection 
of  His  Name. 

"The  days  shall  come  when  men  shall  recognize 
the  Oneness  of  Christ's  teaching  on  earth  with 
ours ;  and  the  human  garb,  gross  and  material,  in 
^vhich  it  has  been  shrouded,  shall  be  rent  asunder, 
and  men  shall  see  the  true  grandeur  of  the  life  and 
teaching  of  Him  whom  they  ignorantly  worship. 
In  those  days  they  shall  worship  with  no  less 
reality,  but  with  a  more  perfect  knowledge;  and 
they  shall  know  that  the  sign  ( 4* )  under  which  we 
speak  is  the  symbol  of  purity  and  self-sacrificing 
love  to  them  and  to  their  brethren  for  all  time. 
This  end  it  is  our  earnest  endeavor  to  attain. 
Judge  of  our  mission  by  this  standard,  and  it  is  of 
God,  godlike ;  noble  as  He  is  noble ;  pure  as  He  is 
pure;  truth-giving  as  He  is  true;  elevating  and 
saving,  and  purifying  the  spirit  from  the  grossness 
of  earthly  conceptions  and  raising  it  to  the  very 
atmosphere  and  neighborhood  of  the  spiritual  and 
the  divine."* 

In  another  chapter  I  will  endeavor  to  prove, 
from  a  study  of  the  Greek  text,  that  Imperator  is 
certainly  right ;  and  our  interpretations  have  gone 
astray,  by  translating  the  Vulgate  or  Latin  ver- 
sion, instead  of  the  original  Greek  text,  to  make 
our  English  Bible,  in  the  sixteenth  century.f 

fSee   The   Vulgate,   the  Source   of     *Spirit  Teachings,  p.  71. 
False  Doctrines  (Williams  and  Norgate). 


JESUS  CHEIST  97 

The  great  war  has  brought  to  the  front  the  true 
Spirit  of  Christ;  first  as  the  uniter  of  mankind, 
within  the  bounds  of  our  o'wn  *' Units"  of  the 
Army,  and  has  found  expression  in  the  words,, 
*  *  Comrades  of  the  War" ;  but  all  the  men  of  all  the 
different  nations  fighting  with  us  are  now  united 
in  the  common  purpose  of  fighting  for  Jesus  Christ 
and  the  Kingdou  of  Eighteousness.  We  are  all 
*'At  One"  with  that  object. 

Imperator  says:  "The  days  shall  come  when 
men  shall  recognize  the  Oneness  of  Christ's  teach- 
ing on  earth  with  ours  .  .  .  men  shall  see  the  true 
grandeur  of  the  life  and  teaching  of  Him  whom 
they  ignorantly  worship.  In  those  days  they  shall 
worship  with  no  less  reality  but  with  a  more  per- 
fect knowledge  they  shall  know  that  the  sign  ( 4* ) 
under  which  we  speak  is  the  symbol  of  purity  and 
self-sacrificing  love  to  them  and  to  their  brethren 
for  all  time. ' ' 

Are  not  the  following  instances  illustrations  of 
a  fulfillment  of  Imperator' s  words! 

A  certain  incumbent  had  some  wounded  Indians 
located  in  his  parish.  One  died,  and  the  question 
was  raised:  Where  should  he  be  buried  I  It  was 
suggested  to  the  Vicar  that  it  should  be  in  uncon- 
secrated  ground.  He  took  the  opposite  view  and 
buried  the  man  in  the  consecrated  church  yard, 
adding  a  stone  with  the  inscription  as  a  heading : 
There  is  One  God  and  Father  of  All. 

The  native  Indian  officer  thanked  him  and  said : 
"Those  beautiful  words  will  do  more  to  unite  us 
TTohammedans  with  you   than  all    the   political 


98  JESUS  CHEIST 

bonds  could  effect."  The  officer  brought  all  his 
men  on  a  little  pilgrimage  to  the  grave  of  their 
comrade  before  leaving;  and  they  all  expressed 
their  grateful  thanks  to  the  incumbent  of  the 
parish. 

''One  touch  of  Nature — for  Love  is  a  human 
instinct — makes  the  whole  world  kin." 

The  foUomng  Avell  illustrates  the  spontaneous 
awakening  of  the  truly  natural  Christian  spirit  of 
Agape. 

On  November  20th,  1917,  came  a  letter  from 
some  disabled  Japanese  soldiers :  "  To  the  Honor- 
able and  Brave."  It  was  written  by  Surgeon  Col- 
onel Ikutaro  Goto,  on  behalf  of  248  disabled  Jap- 
anese soldiers.  After  expressing  their  "heart-felt 
sympathy,"  he  proceeds  to  say :  ''You  have  brave- 
ly fought  in  the  cause  of  humanity.  In  sending 
you  a  letter  of  our  deep  sympathy  and  love  .  .  . 
Humanity  is  one  and  the  same  everywhere 
throughout  the  whole  world.  It  hnotvs  neither  na- 
tional harriers  nor  racial  distinctions.  Our  heart 
is  yours;  your  heart  is  ours.  So  I  beg  you  to  kindly 
accept  our  profoundest  sympathy  . . .  The  glory  of 
the  final  victory  is  alwa3^s  with  the  side  of  the 
righteous  and  is  awaiting  your  brave  and  patriotic 
comrades  now  at  the  front.  May  Heaven  bless  all 
our  allied  peoples." 

This  letter  is  an  expression  of  pure  Christianity, 
whatever  the  professed  "religion"  of  the  248 
Japanese  soldiers  may  be.  The  reader  will  at  once 
recognize  the  "Christian  expressions,"  which  T 
have  italicized. 


CHAPTER  VII 

IMPERATOR  AND  HIS  RELIGIOUS   POSI- 
TION; WHAT  IS  TRUE  CHRISTIANITY? 

Imperator's  religious  position,  based  on  Love. — He  appeals  to 
Reason. — Love  replaces  Beliefs. — Religion  based  on  ecclesiastical 
terms,  requires  restatement. — The  Christ-like  Character  and  Con- 
duct only  essential. — The  Imitation  of  the  simplicity  and  sin- 
cerity of  Jesus'  teaching. — "Will  this  teaching  be  accepted?" 
asks  Rev.  S.  Moses. — The  present  writer's  experiences. — Imperator 
dismisses  theological  Creeds  as  being  unnecessary  to  make  a 
Christian. — Restatements  required. — Imperator 's  reply  to  Rev. 
Stainton  Moses. — The  Judgment  Day. — Results  depend  upon  our 

acquired  characters   in    this  world Mr.   Heslop    on   the   "Germ 

of  Truth ' '  being  only  taught  on  earth. — Purity  of  motive  the 
determining  value. — Rev.  Stainton  Moses'  oivn  "regeneration" 
through  Imperator 's  influence. — The  character  of  this  great 
spirit's  teaching. — The  Duty  of  the  Church. — The  present  crav- 
ing for  Unity  in  the  Churches  and  the  Bishop  of  the  Philippines' 
discourse. 

This  great  control  of  the  Rev.  Stainton  Moses 
again  emphasizes  his  position,  as  Expounder  of 
the  Religion  held  on  the  other  side: — "If  you  will 
further  recollect  the  standpoint  ^ve  have  selected, 
you  will  see  that  in  place  of  blind  faith  [or  rather 
'Beliefs']  which  accepts  traditional  teaching — the 
old  merely  because  it  is  old — we  appeal  to  Reason; 
and  in  place  of  credulity  we  demand  rational,  in- 
telligent investigation  and  acceptance  grounded  on 
conviction." 

Such  is  the  only  true  and  scientific,  i.e.,  rational, 
way  to  discover  the  trutli.  It  is  not  any  "advance- 
ment" of  the  Truth  that  is  required  now;  for  it  is 
exactly  what  Jesus    Christ    and    His    Apostles 


100  IMPERATOE'S  RELIGIOUS  POSITION 

taught.  Such  alone  is  really  and  trul)^  everlasting. 
It  is  the  false  theology  of  later  days  which  has  dis- 
turbed it  and  coined  a  number  of  theological  terms 
which  "fixed"  the  erroneous  conceptions  involved. 

What  the  Church  now  requires — and  that  ur- 
gently— is  to  go  back,  restudy  and  restate  the 
exact  teaching  of  Christ.  This  can  only  be  done  by 
restoring  the  true  meanings  of  the  Greek  in  our 
New  Testament,  and  eliminating  every  erroneous 
word*  and  misleading  idea,  and  wrong  term  in  our 
English  Bible,  and  so  recover  the  exact  meaning  of 
our  Lord's  words.  In  that  way  we  shall  discover 
that  He  was  solely  concerned  with  Character  and 
Conduct,  for  it  is  these  Avhich  constitute  Salvation, 
i.e.,  Spiritual  Health  and  Eternal  Life. 

Imperator  well  says:  ''Had  men  devoted  their 
energies  to  the  hyiitation  of  the  simplicity  and  sin- 
cerity, the  loving  toil  and  earnest  purpose,  the 
self-sacrifice  and  purity  of  thought  and  life,  which 
elevates  and  distinguishes  the  Christ,  they  would 
have  wrangled  less  of  His  nature  and  have  wasted 
few  words  upon  useless  metaphysical  sophistries. 
Those  of  your  theologians  who  dwelt  in  the  days 
of  darkness,  and  who  have  left  to  you  an  accursed 
heritage  in  their  idle  and  foolish  speculations, 
would  have  turned  their  minds  into  a  more  useful 
channel,  and  have  been  a  blessing  instead  of  a 
curse  to  mankind. '  't 

Again  the  Rev.  Stainton  Moses  replied  to  all 

*I  have  endeavored  to  show  this  in  my  little  book :  The  Vulgate 
the  Source  of  False  Doctrines  (Williams  and  Norgate).  ■\Spirit 
Teachings,  p.  90. 


IMPERATOR'S  RELIGIOUS  POSITION  101 

Imperator's  expositions  by  saying:  "It  will  not  be 
accepted."  Tiie  present  writer  can  corroborate 
this  as  far  as  the  past  is  concerned,  but  trust  me 
not  in  the  future.  I  had  no  theological  training,  as 
Mr.  Moses  tells  us  that  he  had,  when  I  was  or- 
dained in  1858.  I  had  to  find  out  for  myself  what 
theology  meant ;  as  I  was  taught  nothing  at  Cam- 
bridge. I  began  as  a  Curate,  to  read  Robertson's, 
Kingsley's,  and  Harvey  Goodwin's  sermons;  as  I 
used  to  hear  the  last  preacher  in  his  own  Church  in 
Cambridge.  They  seemed  to  me  to  lead  one  into 
the  right  path,  and  my  first  realization  was  that 
**Charity,"  now  called  Love  (R.V.),  ivas  the  corn- 
er-stone of  Christianity.  On  that  rock  I  built  my 
Creed. 

Finding  out  that  doctrinal  terms  did  not  always 
correspond  in  meaning  with  the  original  Greek 
text,  I  wrote  a  book  called  The  Vulgate  the  Source 
of  False  Doctrines.  My  object  was  to  show  that 
since  the  English  New  Testament  was  not  trans- 
lated from  the  original  Greek,  but  from  the  Lati7i 
Vulgate,  many  English  words  have  given  wrong 
meanings,  because  they  were  founded  upon  the 
latter. 

In  all,  my  object  was  to  uphold  Christ  as  our 
Great  Example,  as  St.  Peter  calls  Ilim.  For,  if  we 
wish  to  be  "perfect  as  our  Heavenly  Father  is 
perfect,"  we  must  live  the  Christ-life,  for  tliat  is 
being  a  Christian,  or  being  Christ-like.  St.  James 
describes  or  defines  "Pure  Religion"  as  being 
nothing  else  than  purity  in  oneself  and  self-sacri- 
ficing love  towards  otliers  in  affliction. 


102  IMPERATOR'S  RELIGIOUS  POSITION 

With  regard  to  ecclesiastical  dogmas  and  creeds, 
Imperator  writes  as  follows:  "When  we  deal  with 
special  forms  of  theological  creed,  we  strive,  in  so 
far  as  we  can,  to  spiritualize  previous  opinion, 
rather  than  to  eradicate  it.  We  know — as  you  can- 
not know — of  how  trifling  moment  are  forms  of 
faith,  provided  the  faith  be  alive  and  spiritual; 
and  we  strive,  therefore,  to  build  on  the  founda- 
tions already  laid.  To  this  end,  however,  whilst  the 
broad  outlines,  which  are  themselves  partially 
truthful,  or  which  embody  as  much  truth  as  the 
intelligence  can  grasp,  are  preserved,  much  that  is 
false  and  delusive  must  be  cleared  away.  So  the 
work  of  destruction  precedes  the  work  of  construc- 
tion. The  soil  is  purged  of  gross  error,  and  the 
truth  is  refined  and  purified  as  far  as  may  be. 
Hence  it  is  that  we  do  usually  teach  a  modification 
of  the  views  of  truth  held  by  those  to  whom  we 
speak. 

I  shall  have  occasion  to  give  Imperator' s  view  of 
the  Atonement  later  on.  Elsewhere  Imperator 
makes  this  remark  on  Dogmas :  "The  burdens  that 
a  dogmatic  priesthood  has  bound  upon  men's 
backs,  we  fling  them  to  the  winds;  the  dogmas 
which  have  hampered  the  soul,  and  dragged  do-wn 
its  aspirations,  we  tear  them  asunder,  and  bid  the 
soul  go  free.  Our  mission  is  the  continuation  of 
that  old  teaching  which  man  has  so  strangely  al- 
tered ;  its  source  identical ;  its  course,  parallel ;  its 
end  the  same." 

The  final  test  of  a  religious  life,  according  to 
Imperator — and  he  only   sums   up   Our   Lord's 


IMPERATOR'S  RELIGIOUS  POSITION  103 

teaching — will  be  best  illustrated  by  Christ's  para- 
ble of  the  Judgment* ;  wherein  He  shows  the  fact 
that  Character  and  Conduct,  i.e.,  tiie  "Yvord"  He 
preached  are  the  ''Judge  and  Jury";  in  other 
words  our  own  Conscience. 

Wliatever  value  dogmas  may  have,  we  shall 
clearly  not  be  judged  by  Head-heliefs;  but  by 
what  may  be  called  Heart-practice;  i.e.,  effected 
by  the  enthusiasm  of  Lovet- 

The  following  examples  perhaps  will  explain  the 
cause  of  the  feeble  reception  of  the  above-named 
books.  A  Canon  said  in  a  sermon  I  heard,  after 
reading  my  book  on  the  Vulgate:  "If  I  did  not 
believe  in  'Substitution,'!  I  would  never  enter 
this  [his  o^^^l]  pulpit  again." 

A  clergyman  wrote  to  a  magazine  (in  which  I 
had  written  an  article  showing  the  origin  of  the 
mistaken  sense  of  "Atonement")  and  he  said:  "I 
know  some  think  so,  but  I  am  too  old  to  change 
my  view;  and  I  represent  a  large  number  of  the 
clergy."  As  if  age  could  be  any  excuse  for  clinging 
to  what  is  false ! 

Agreeing  with  Imperator,  all  other  spirits  who 
speak  of  religion  at  all,  are  unanimous  in  saying 
rites,  ceremonies,  dogmas  and  doctrines  or  theol- 
ogy in  general — as  we  understand  them  on  earth — 
are  unkno\m  on  the  other  side;  for  Religion  is 

*'Matt.,  25,  31-46.  fZ  Cor.,  13.  JThis  is  a  synonym  for 
"Atonement";  which  regards  Christ's  death  as  a  vicarious 
substitution,  instead  of  man,  to  appease  the  wrath  of  God  and 
satisfy  His  justice.  It  is  forgotten  that  "Ood  was  in  Christ, 
reconciling  (i.e.,  at-onc-ing)  the  worlil  unto  Himself  and  not 
reckoning  their  trespasses  unto  them"    {Earn.,  5,  19.) 


104  IMPERATOE'S  RELIGIOUS  POSITION 

wholly  centered  in  Love  and  loving  actions.  Thus  I 
repeat  what  Mr.  Heslop  wrote  to  his  wife : 

*'I  see  now  that  only  the  germ  of  truth  is  taught 
on  earth,  overladen  by  much  error  and  supersti- 
tion. You  hardly  realize  that  you  have  power  to 
express  God  in  your  lives.  The  acts  and  deeds 
which  I  have  thought  good,  and  of  which  I  was 
rather  proud,  were  not  regarded  here;  but  some 
little  word  or  deed,  almost  forgotten,  shows  out 
clear  and  distinct.  It  was  the  purity  of  motive  that 
gave  it  value,  nothing  else," 

So  too,  our  Lord  said :  * '  The  good  man  out  of  his 
good  treasure  bringeth  forth  good  things." 

Mr.  Stainton  Moses,  at  first,  as  we  have  seen, 
again  and  again,  objected  to  Imperator' s  exposi- 
tion, recognizing,  however,  that  "it  was  pure  and 
beautiful,  but  surely,"  he  asks,  **it  is  not  Christ- 
ian? .  .  .  Nor  is  it  the  teaching  which  one  who 
uses  the  sign  of  the  Cross  would  reasonably  be 
expected  to  promulgate.  .  .  I  was  not  content," 
he  wrote,  *'and  took  time  to  consider  what  had 
been  written.  .  .  It  had  a  tendency  to  take  the 
backbone  out  of  faith,"  i.e.,  of  course,  belief,  from 
his  dogmatic  point  of  view. 

Nevertheless,  the  time  came  when  he  saw,  not 
only  the  beauty,  but  the  truth,  of  Imperator's 
teaching ;  and  when  reviewing  the  past  he  tells  us 
in  the  Introduction  that :  "It  was  a  period  of  Edu- 
cation, in  which  I  underwent  a  spiritual  develop- 
ment that  was  in  its  outcome  a  very  regeneration. 
I  cannot  hope,  I  do  not  try,  to  convey  to  others 
what  I  then  experienced.  But  it  may  possibly  be 


IxMPERATOR'S  RELIGIOUS  POSITION  105 

borne  in  upon  the  minds  of  some,  who  are  not 
ignorant  of  the  dispensation  of  the  Spirit  in  their 
own  imiei  selves,  that  for  me  the  question  of  the 
beneficent  action  of  external  Spirit  on  rny  ovth  self 
was  thus  finally  settled.  I  have  never  since,  even 
in  the  vagaries  of  an  extremely  sceptical  mind,  and 
amid  much  cause  for  questioning,  ever  seriously 
entertained  a  doubt." 

Of  the  communications  he  concludes:  *'It  is 
their  intrinsic  claim,  the  end  disclosed,  the  inlier- 
ent  and  essential  truth  that  they  contain,  which 
marks  their  value.  To  many  they  will  be  utterly 
valueless ;  because  their  truth  is  not  truth  to  them. 
To  others  they  will  be  merely  curious.  To  some 
they  will  be  an  idle  tale.  I  do  not  publish  them 
in  any  expectation  of  general  acceptance.  I  shall 
be  quite  content  that  they  be  at  the  service  of 
any  who  can  find  them  helpful."* 

Mr.  Myers  writes  at  some  length  upon  the  value 
of  the  evidence  of  the  automatic  handwriting  of 
Mr.  Moses,  under  seven  separate  headings;!  but 
he  omits  what,  to  the  present  writer,  seems  the 
most  convincing  of  all,  namely,  the  character  of 
the  religious  teaching  of  Imperator;  which  was  so 
greatly  at  variance  with  Mr.  Moses'  beliefs  in 
which  he  had  been  brought  up.  Nevertheless,  he 
was  completely  converted  or  ''regenerated,"  as  he 
himself  says ;  as  stated  above. 

No  better,  no  stronger  proof  of  Imperator's 
existence  could  well  be  demanded.  But — will  the 
Churches  ever  side  with  Imperator?  The  following 

*0p.  cit.,  Introduction,  p.  7,  f.  Tho  Communications  wore 
mafic  during  the  years  1873-1877.     -fnuman  Personality,  p.  325. 


106  IMPEEATOR'S  EELIGIOUS  PO^iTiON 

quotation  is  somewhat  appropriate  here,  as  it 
deals  with  Spiritual  Unity  based  on  common  Fel- 
lowship. 

' '  The  Bishop  of  the  Philippines,  in  his  inspiring 
sermon  preached  at  St.  Paul's  on  April  20th,  1917, 
on  the  occasion  of  the  entry  of  the  United  States 
into  the  war  on  behalf  of  Ffeedom,  Humanity  and 
Peace,  dealt  in  his  peroration  with  the  duty  of 
Christian  Churches  to  assist  the  promotion  of  uni- 
versal peace  by  promoting  ecclesiastical  unity. 

**  Wliat  the  Bishop  said  is  not  new,  but  spoken  on 
a  historic  occasion,  it  should  come  home  with  pe- 
culiar force  to  the  Christian  leaders  in  the 
country : 

' '  Once  more  and  finally ;  the  Soul  of  democracy 
is — I  will  not  say  religion — but  organized  religion. 
The  day  is  passed  for  individualistic  attempts  to 
redeem  mankind  by  visions  that  are  not  tuned  to 
the  infinite,  the  eternal  and  the  universal.  Only 
this  morning  I  received  a  letter  from  a  layman  in 
America,  a  man  who  has  done  more  for  the  unity 
of  the  Church  of  Christ  than  any  other  man  of  his 
generation,  and  this  is  what  he  says:  ''It  is,  I 
think,  becoming  increasingly  clear,  that  the  ques- 
tion of  world  peace  and  of  Christian  reunion  go 
together,  for  only  the  visible  unity  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  will  be  competent  to  remove  the  obstacles 
in  the  way  of  the  establishment  of  His  Kingdom  of 
peace  and  righteousness  and  love. "  It  is  true.  It  is 
true.  The  world  is  craving  for  the  unit}^  that  comes 
from  God,  and  that  is  maintained  by  the  operation 
of  the  Spirit  of  God.  That  unity  is  going  to  come 


IMPEKATOR'S  RELIGIOUS  POSITION  107 

just  as  fast  as  we  will  let  God  bring  it  to  us ;  the 
only  obstacle  is  our  stu])bornness,  our  obstinacy. 
There  is — and  here  is  the  root  of  the  matter — a 
Prussianism  in  the  Churches  to-day.  The  supreme 
unit  of  the  Churches  is  the  Church.  The  watch- 
word of  the  Churches  must  be  Unity.  Either 
Churches  must  justify  their  claims  to  be  the  fa- 
vored or  exclusive  residence  of  God  by  exhibiting 
in  their  works  a  holiness  or  a  superiority  nowhere 
now  apparent,  or  else  they  must  admit  the  favors 
of  God  towards  other  Churches  of  lesser  preten- 
tions. A  large  part  of  the  public  has  already 
served  notice  on  the  Churches  that,  unless  we  ob- 
serve the  elementary  principles  of  peaceableness 
and  fairness  and  fellovrship,  they  will  get  on  with- 
out us.  God  defend  us  from  the  day  when  the 
sheep  of  Christ's  flock  turn  upon  the  shepherds 
because  of  the  shepherds'  littleness  and  inability 
to  be  true  leaders.  But  I  see  a  vision,  I  see  a  great 
movement,  a  movement  not  of  men,  but  of  God, 
coming  sweeping  tlirough  this  vrorld  of  ours  and 
gathering  into  its  embrace  all  right-minded  men.  I 
see  a  united  Church,  a  Church  worthy  of  the  resi- 
dence of  Jesus  Christ  among  men,  the  shrine  and 
instrument  of  His  Spirit,  a  Cliurch  which  will 
bring  holiness  and  power  to  all  the  people  of  God — 
that  is  the  end  of  the  vision,  and  that  is  the  su- 
preme thing  to  which  we  must  commit  ourselves 
today." 

I  had  been  reading  this  aloud;  and  the  Spirits, 
who  are  always  present  with  us,  said:  ''Tell  the 
Little  Man,  that  is  exactly  what  we  are  all  taught 
here." 


CHAPTER  VIII 

THE  ACQUISITION  OF  THE  CHRIST-LIKE 
CHARACTER  AND   CONDUCT   IS   EVERY- 
THING   HEREAFTER;    AND     MUST     BE 
STRIVEN  FOR  ON  EARTH 

Our  charaetera  can  be  seen  and  our  thoughts  be  visible  to  all 
spirits,  as  the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  asserts. — This  leads  to  the 
Fellowship  of  the  "like."  An  illustration  of  a  spirit  witnessing 
one  'a  acts  and  words  and  reporting  them.  Their  seeing  and 
hearing  require  a  medium. — Progress  in  spirituality,  our  right 
object  on  earth  and  hereafter. — Example:  "We  are  certain  you 
will  win  the  war;  but  what  is  of  more  importance  is  to  be 
ready  to  die  for  God." — Julia's  contribution  to  the  subject. — 
Eeal  Eeligion. — St.  Paul 's  corroboration  of  the  reiterated  assertion 
that  Love  (Agape)  is  of  the  first  and  vital  importance  in  a  Chris- 
tian.— Conscience  will  be  our  Judge. — Each  should  find  time  to 
think  of  God. — Imperator's  final  prayer. 

The  writer  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  (12,  1) 
uses  the  expression:  "Seeing  we  are  compassed 
about  with  so  great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  let  us 
lay  aside  the  sin  which  doth  so  easily  beset  us." 

Who  are  these  witnesses?  Certainly  not  as  a 
rule  human  beings  on  earth;  for  the  sinner  who 
had  a  ''secret  sin"  is  not  likely  to  seek  publicity, 
but  avoids  it;  but  he  cannot  avoid  it  in  the  spirit 
world,  for  we  now  know  that  we  are,  here  on  earth, 
with  at  least  one  or  more  friendly,  helping  spirits, 
but  others  are  always  about ;  who,  if  they  cannot 
see  or  hear  well  without  a  medium,  they  assure  us 
that  they  can  read  our  thoughts;  and  they  can  do 

108 


THE  CHEIST-LIKE  CHARACTER    109 

both  if  a  medium  happens  to  be  present.  Thus, 
those  who  attended  my  lectures  discovered  a 
medium  who  was  one  of  three  people  who  were  the 
only  ones  j)resent  at  the  time ;  so  that  in  any  larger 
group  of  men  and  women  there  would  probably 
be  one  or  more  with  mediumistic  powers,  though 
without  being  aware  of  it  themselves. 

This  reading  of  each  other's  thoughts  leads  to 
close  fellowship  among  all  who  are  like-minded 
on  the  other  side ;  as  is  pre-figured  in  the  parable 
of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus. 

The  following  incident  will  illustrate  the  possi- 
bility of  hearing  what  you  are  talking  about  ii- 
private  and  then  the  spirit  subsequently  repeating 
it  through  a  medium. 

On  January  15th,  1917,  I  went  to  the  Bank  to 
invest  in  the  "War  Loan"  for  a  friend.  I  subse- 
quently asked  the  Manager  as  to  the  advisability 
of  selling  out  some  long-standing  stock  for  the 
same  purpose.  As  I  expected,  he  advised  me  not 
to  do  so.  When  I  returned  home,  our  medium  said : 
"The  spirits  tell  mo  you  have  been  consulting  the 
Manager  about  investing  yourself  in  the  Loan!" 

I  had  not  mentioned  that  I  had  any  intention  of 
doing  so ;  indeed,  I  only  thought  of  it  just  as  I  was 
going  to  the  Bank,  so  I  asked  the  spirits  how  they 
came  to  know.  The  reply  was:  "We  were  there." 
So  they  could  hear  what  the  conversation  was 
about.  In  this  case  no  one  else  beside  the  Manager 
and  myself  wero  present;  so  one  of  us  tivo  was 
presumably  sufTicionlly  mediumistic  to  carry  the 
words  to  their  auditory  organs,  whatever  they 


110     THE  CHRIST-LIKE  CPIARACTER 

may  be  in  a  spirit-body.  I  am  not  aware  of  having 
any  such  poAver ;  for  I  tried  an  experiment.  I  told 
our  music-loving  spirit-friends  that  the  lady  would 
go  out  of  the  room  while  I  played  a  piece  of  music ; 
when  she  returned,  I  asked  if  they  could  hear  it. 
The  reply  was  to  the  effect  that  it  was  *'next  to 
impossible ;  what  they  did  hear  was  not  worth  list- 
ening to. ' ' 

This  will  be  sufficient  to  warn  my  readers  of 
the  truth  of  the  words  of  the  writer  to  the 
Hebrews. 

As  we  have  trials  on  this  earth  and  must  bear 
them  in  order  to  progress  in  siDirituality ;  and 
since,  when  we  pass  over,  we  continue  the  same 
life  that  we  had  here,  so  must  we  continue  to  grow 
in  grace  there,  as  our  domestic  spirits  tell  us.  The 
following  observation  came  from  them  quite  un- 
expectedly, and  it  has  been  often  repeated  by  oth- 
ers in  other  words. 

I  happened  to  be  reading  aloud  about  the  War : 
''We  know  you  will  win ;  but  what  is  of  much  more 
importance  is  being  ready  to  die  for  God.  We  have 
great  trials  liere  to  surmount,  before  we  attain  to 
the  little  joy  we  possess." 

On  hearing  this  I  remarked  aloud:  "I  quite  un- 
derstand; since  we  all  pass  over  very  imperfect, 
our  trials  will  probably  continue  to  discipline  us 
and  so  enable  us  to  go  on  improving." 

The  comment  followed:  "The  Little  Man  does 
not  seem  to  be  surprised;  but  it  is  quite  true." 

Julia  also  writes  on  character,  which  is  tb.o 


THE  CHEIST-LIKE  CHARACTER    111 

essence  of  the  Christian  Religion  here  and  here- 
after. 

"The  worth  of  character  must  be  seen  as  we  see 
it  here  to  be  appreciated.  We  see  men  as  they  are 
.  .  .  we  see  the  nature  of  the  soul,  and  the  factor 
that  decides  is  the  character  .  .  .  You  can  hardly, 
by  any  stretch  of  imagination,  realize  w^hat  a 
change  it  is  to  live  in  a  place  where  tlie  only  test  is 
character;  Avhere  property,  station  and  work  do 
not  count — no,  nor  religious  professions. 

"We  see  things  as  they  are,  not  as  they  are 
labled.  We  have  such  surprises  to  encounter ;  such 
amazing  upturns  and  revolutions  of  the  estimate 
in  which  men  and  women  are  held.  .  .  Judge  not 
until  at  least  you  see  the  man  as  he  is. 

"We  don't  ask  what  Church.  We  never  ask 
about  these  things  except  so  far  as  they  stand  in 
the  way  of  the  real  religion.  We  lament  and  have 
continually  to  deplore  the  fact  that  men  have  sub- 
stituted church  connections  for  the  love  which  is 
tlie  fulfilling  of  the  law.  The  degree  of  love  with 
which  anyone  loves  measures  his  religion." 

If  the  reader  will  study  St.  Paul's  chapter  on 
Love;  by  which  he  means  "the  enthusiasm  of  hu- 
manity"; and  then  St.  James'  Defmition  of  Chris- 
tianity, he  will  see  at  once  that  Julia  is  simply 
telling  us  that  the  Christian  Religion,  in  the  only 
true  sense  of  the  word,  is  the  same  here  and  here- 
after, namely,  the  Christ-like  Character  and  Con- 
duct. 

With  those  two  roforonces  lot  him  compare  Our 
Lord's  description  of  the  result  of  the  Judgment 


112    THE  CHRIST-LIKE  CHARACTER 

Day,  which  is  in  reality  and  not  parabolically  ex- 
pressed— the  Day  we  pass  over  to  the  other  side; 
when  our  Conscience  will  stare  ns  in  the  face  and 
pronounce  the  sentence  we  deserve. 

If  the  preceding  words  be  true,  then  Julians 
warning  is  appropriate:  ''You  must  have  time  to 
think  of  God  and  of  His  manifestation  of  Love, 
otherwise  you  will  crowd  God  out  of  your  life ;  and 
life  without  Love  is  a  life  witJiout  God.  "What 
chance  have  you  of  realizing  the  truths  of  the 
Other  World  if  you  are  perpetually  racing  to 
catch  trains  in  this  1  I  know  you  must  catch  trains, 
but  what  I  plead  for  is,  that  you  should  make 
time,  at  least  for  a  few  minutes  a  day,  in  which  to 
catch  Eternity,  or  a  glimpse  of  it  and  of  eternal 
things." 

IMPERATOR'S  Final  Prayer. 

The  Evangelists  have  recorded  "The  Lord's 
Prayer."  St.  John  has  given  us  Our  Lord's  last 
prayer  before  finally  quitting  this  world  in  the 
body.  I  here  give  Imperator's  prayer  at  the  con- 
clusion of  his  arguments  upon  Religion  on  the 
other  side. 

' '  Father !  Eternal,  Infinite,  All-wise.  We  draw 
near  to  Thee,  and  lay  before  Thee  our  petitions, 
knowing  that  Thou  dost  hear  us  and  wilt  answer 
our  prayers.  Eternal  God,  remove  from  our  path 
the  bars  and  clogs  that  hinder  and  hamper  us. 
Loving  Father,  shed  into  the  doubting  heart  a 
beam  of  light  to  illumine  the  dark  corners  and  to 
drive  out  the  lurking  foe.    IMighty  Master,  bear 


THE  CHRIST-LIKE  CHARACTER    113 

doA\Ti  to  us  that  consolation  which  we  need  in  our 
labor.  Great  and  labor,  great  must  be  the  love. 
Great  is  the  work,  great  must  be  the  power.  Grant 
it,  Almighty  Power!  and  to  Thee  will  we  render 
our  praises.  Before  Thee  we  will  testify  of  our 
grateful  adoration,  and  to  Thee  \vill  we  bring  the 
free  will  offering  of  our  loving  homage.  Glory 
and  blessing  and  honor  and  praise  be  to  Thee 
from  Angel  and  Spirit,  throughout  Thy  Uni- 
verse!" 

►Mmperator. 


CHAPTER  IX 

AGAPE,  THE  TEUE  CHEISTIAN  LOVE,  i.e., 
THE  ENTHUSIASM  OF  HUMANITY  IS 
THE  GREATEST  FEATURE  OF  THE  NEXT 

WORLD 

Mr.  Heslop's  conversion  from  anti-spiritualism,  and  both  his 
and  Mr.  Stainton  Moses',  to  the  spirit-teaching  of  Christianity. — 
The  Communion  of  Saints  and  consolation.-pS^ulia,  now  indif- 
ferent to  earthly  ' '  religious  beliefs, ' '  as  all  th>rseparate  dogmatic 
teachings  are  replaced  by  Lo*»,  i-e.,  the  basis  of  the  true  Christian 
character.— £3%ie  required  to  abandon  erroneous  beliefs,  and 
their  non-existence  on  the  other  side. — Consolation  of  affection. 
— The  abolition  of  Creeds. — Julia's  Bureau  and  its  use. — Explan- 
ation of  Love  as  being  "Christ  in  You." — Married  people  and 
their  love  on  the  other  side. — The  Author  of  "Christ  in  You" 
on  the  Communion  of  Saints. — Private  Dowdmg  on  Love. — 
Clement  of  Alexandra. — Mr.  Heslop  corroborates  others. — 
hnperator's  exposition  of  Love. — An  Indian  Yogi  on  Love. — 
Imperator's  Summary. — Mistaken  view  of  a  Roman  Catholic 
Spirit  that  I  ' '  should  do  more  for  the  Virgin  Mary. ' ' — The  par- 
allel in  the  Middle  Ages  (12th  century)  of  the  supplanting  Christ 
,by  St.  Edmund,  at  the  Abbey,  Bury  St.  Edmunds. — Love  and 
Salvation. — The  "Little  Angel  Adjutant"  of  the  Salvation  Army. 
— Imperator's  comment. — The  unpardonable  sin,  and  why  it  is  so. 

Mrs.  Heslop  thus  writes  of  her  departed  husband : 
"It  was  well  known  that  John,  in  his  earth-life, 
was  intolerant  of  all  idea  of  spirit-communication. 
He  could  not  even  endure  the  subject  spoken  of 
before  him.  It  was,  therefore,  rather  perplexing 
to  his  friends  when  I  said  that  he  had  come  into 

114 


AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE    115 

communication  with  me  again  after  his  physical 
death.  Overhearing*  a  discussion  on  the  point,  he 
wrote  as  follows:  "Our  friend  is  quite  right  in 
thinking  that  when  on  earth  I  bitterly  opposed  all 
suggestions  of  spirit-communion.  I  thought  there 
was  blasphemy  in  the  very  idea.  My  whole  early 
training  had  bent  my  mind  in  the  wrong  direction. 
Now,  with  my  fuller  vision  and  stripped  of  all  the 
theological  misconceptions  of  my  youth,  I  see  how 
utterly  tvrong  I  was,  and  to  me,  one  of  the  most 
wonderful  discoveries  of  this  wonderful  life  here, 
ic  that  it  is  possible  to  return  to  full  conmiunica- 
tion  with  you;  and  continue  with  perfect  and  un- 
broken joy,  the  union  our  Church  consummated 
twenty  years  ago.'  "t 

It  is  interesting  to  compare  Mr.  Heslop's  "con- 
version" to  that  of  the  Rev.  Stainton  Moses,  who 
was  not  only  converted,  but ' '  regenerated, "  as  he 
says,  througli  his  communications  with  hnperator, 
while  he  himself  was  still  on  earth. 

The  late  Rev.  Arthur  Chambers,  who  wrote  the 
Forevord  for  Mrs.  Heslop,  says:  "If  I  am  not 
mistaken,  many  Avill  rise  up  from  the  reading  of 
this  volume  and  will  say:  "It  has  given  me  a 
fuller,  grander  and  more  comforting  conception  of 
what  is  implied  by  the  term,  ^^The  Communion  of 

Saints.' 't 

I  do  not  know  where  or  when  the  phrase  "Com- 

*Our  spirits,  too,  hear  everj'thing  we  say  through  the  lady 
automatist;  and  often  make  remarks  on  what  may  be  beinp 
talked  about.  fThis  ought  to  convnuce  us  of  the  foolishness  of 
bemoaning  our  relations'  and  friends'  departure  to  the  othei 
world       +//    Cr.r.,    13,    14. 


116  AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE 

munion"  of  Saints  first  occurred;  but  this  word 
only  appears  four  times  in  the  New  Testament, 
and  means  "fellowship"  according  to  the  Greek 
{koinonia),  as  ''The  Fellowship  of  the  Holy 
Ghost. "  "  Saint ' '  and  ' '  holy ' '  are  words  used  to 
signify  a  "Christian"  in  general. 

St.  Paul  uses  the  word  "fellowship"  when  ex- 
plaining the  Bread  and  Wine  of  the  Lord's  Supper 
as  representing  our  union  within  Christ's  Church. 

As  an  example  of  the  use  of  the  word  "holy," 
St.  Paul  tells  the  Corinthians  that  if  a  child  have 
one  parent  a  Christian,  that  sanctifies  the  children, 
and  they  are  "holy,"  that  is  they  are  Christians 
by  birth,  and  of  adult  Christians  he  says:  "The 
temple  of  God  is  holy;  which  temple  ye  are."  Of 
course,  "holiness"  means  the  Christ-like  char- 
acter. 

On  this  subject  Julia  writes:  "As  to  the  com- 
munion of  saints,  you  say  and  sing  all  manner  of 
things  about  the  saints  above  and  below  being  one 
army  of  the  Living  God ;  but  when  any  one  of  us 
on  the  other  side  tries  to  make  any  practical  effort 
to  enable  you  to  realize  the  oneness  and  to  make 
you  feel  that  you  are  encompassed  about  by  so 
great  a  cloud  of  witnesses,  then  there  is  an  outcry : 
"It  is  against  the  will  of  God,"  "It  is  tampering 
with  demons. ' '  Be  not  deceived  by  these  specious 
outcries!  Am  I  a  demon?  Am  I  doing  what  is 
contrary  to  the  will  of  God  when  I  constantly  try 
to  inspire  you  with  more  faith  in  Him,  more  love 
for  Him  and  aU  His  creatures ;  and,  in  short,  try 


AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHEISTIAN  LOVE  117 

to  bring  yon  nearer  and  closer  to  God  I  Yon  know 
I  do  all  this.  It  is  my  joy  and  the  law  of  my  be- 
ing. I  should  go  on  doing  it  even  if  yon  were  to 
refnse  to  let  me  use  yonr  hand.  I  am  only  doing 
consciously  to  you  what  is  being  done  to  others 
who  are  more  or  less  unconscious  of  the  influences 
they  are  subject  to."* 

It  is  often  asked  whether  Spiritualism  will  as- 
sure "consolation"  to  the  bereaved  by  being  able 
to  communicate  with  the  beloved  ones. 

In  reply  to  this  question,  Miss  F.  R.  Scatcherd 
thus  writes  about  Sir  Oliver  Lodge's  new  book, 
Raymond,  under  The  New  Science,  its  Testimony 
to  Human  Survival: 

* '  This  precious  volume  reveals  those  aspects  of 
humanity  that  are  eternal  in  their  appeal  to  man- 
kind. It  testifies  to  fatherly  and  filial  affection 
never  obscured  by  the  slightest  cloud — to  a 
'IMother's  Lament' — 'Ra^nuond,  darling,  you  have 
gone  from  our  world,  and,  oh,  to  ease  the  pain,  I 
want  to  know  if  you  are  happy,  and  that  you 
yourself  are  really  talking  to  me,  and  no  sham." 

"For  the  sake  of  other  Fathers  and  ;Mothers 
stricken  as  they  have  been,  these  parents  have  set 
aside  the  reticence  natural  in  such  circumstances, 
and  a  record,  endorsed  by  tlie  uhole  family  circle, 
has  been  issued.  Tlierein  lies  its  uniqueness  and 
its  universal  appeal,  "t 

•After  Death,  p.  29  f.  She  is  addressing  the  late  Mr.  W.  T. 
Stoad,  whose  hand  she  is  controlling.  \Eevicw  of  Reviews,  Dec, 
1916. 


118  AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE 

Like  other  Spirits,  as  Imperator,  who  allude  to 
religion,  following  Christ's  teaching  to  the  letter, 
Julia  writes :  ''I  soon  became  accustomed  to  disre- 
gard all  the  distinctions  I  had  made  so  much  of 
when  on  earth.  Then  I  used  to  ask  if  So-and-so  was 
"religious,"  i.e.,  whether  he  belonged  to  this,  or 
that,  or  the  other  'church.'  Now  these  things  do 
not  interest  me  anj^  more  than  the  new  frills  and 
facings  of  fashion.  "We  don't  ask  what  church  .  .  . 
we  never  ask  except  so  far  as  they  stand  in  the 
way  of  real  religion.  We  lament,  and  have  con- 
tinually to  deplore,  the  fact  that  they  are  substi- 
tuted for  the  love  which  is  the  fulfilling  of  the 
law.  The  degree  of  love  with  which  anyone  loves 
measures  his  religion.  Those  who  do  not  love  are 
those  who  sit  in  outer  darkness  and  in  the  valley 
of  the  shadow  of  death.  Sin  consists  in  the  living 
without  God,  that  is  to  say,  without  love." 

By  "love,"  Julia,  of  course,  means  Agape;  and 
St.  Paul's  "Psalm  of  Love"  is  the  best  descrip- 
tion of  it,  while  Love  is  identical  with  St.  James* 
Definition  of  the  Christian  or  "True  Religion." 

Such  disavowal  of  the  "views"  of  all  the 
"sects,"  "parties"  or  "divisions"  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church  on  Earth — ^l3ased  on  erroneous  inter- 
pretations of  Scripture — does  not  necessarily 
come  all  at  once,  on  the  other  side.  We  know  from 
his  own  words  how  long  it  took  Rev.  Stainton 
Moses  to  be  "regenerated,"  as  he  calls  it,  from 
false  "Anglican"  or  "High  Church"  views,  even 
while  on  earth. 

On  the  other  side  it  may  be  as  many  or  more 


AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE    119 

years  of  tuition,  for  amongst  our  own  spirit - 
friends  who  come  to  communicate  we  have  had 
Roman  Catholics,  Freethinkers,  and  Methodists, 
as  they  have  still  described  themselves. 

Again  in  alluding  to  the  use  of  the  proposed 
Bureau,  Julia  adds : ' '  You  will  destroy,  as  if  by  a 
sword-cut  or  razor-slash,  the  whole  theory  of  the 
future  life  that  is  conventionally  held  and  believed 
by  the  Churches.  You  will  allow  those  of  us  who 
are  here  to  speak  as  to  what  we  know,  and  see  and 
feel.  And  it  is  not  what  you  have  been  conven- 
tionally taught  to  expect.  Now  I  do  not  think  that 
you  will  find  that  what  we  have  to  tell  you  differs 
from  what  the  more  intelligent  and  spiritual  be- 
lievers have  arrived  at  or  have  received  by  in- 
spiration. The  fundamental  principles  are  the 
same.  We  have  nothing  to  tell  you  that  vras  not 
kno^\Ti  to  the  seers  and  that  was  declared  by 
Jesus." 

The  first  three  Gospels  have  little  to  say  about 
Love.  The  disciples  did  not  understand  it  until 
after  the  Resurrection;  but  St.  John's  Gospel  and 
Epistles  are  full  of  it. 

In  an  ethical  sense  it  is  not  the  same  thing  as 
what  is  ordinarily  understood.  It  has  been  asked 
in  one  of  our  newspapers :  ' '  How  can  I  love  my 
enemies  if  they  be  the  Huns!"  Let  us  begin  at 
the  original  source  of  Love  as  affection.  It  appears 
to  be  a  feeling  implanted  in  tlie  constitution  of 
animals  as  well  as  man,  for  mating  purposes,  and 
for  tlie  parental  care  for  helpless  offspring.  This 
is  outwardly  shown  by  acts  of  affection.  AVith  man 


120  AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHEISTIAN  LOVE 

it  begins  with  the  family;  with  the  tribe  it  loses 
tliis  first  element,  for  "affection"  is  replaced  by 
''regard"  to  establish  the  bond  of  unity,  especi- 
ally for  making  defense  against  any  common  foe. 
It  is  the  primitive  form  of  entente  cordiale.  As 
tribes  become  Avelded  into  a  nation,  this  "Com- 
mon-Aveal"  is  called  Patriotism,  Love  of  one's 
country,  etc.  Before  Christ  came  there  it  ended. 
Every  nation  was  "naturally"  at  war  with  every 
other.  Any  nation  might  attack,  provided  no 
treaty  existed,  any  other  country,  making  it  tribu- 
tary. There  was  no  crime  felt  in  sacking  a  town, 
making  all  the  inhabitants  slaves,  or  even  in 
killing  them;  unless  there  had  been  a  treaty* 

Wliat  did  Christ  do?  He  began  with  the  indi- 
vidual. He  took  the  two  ancient  commandments : 
"Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God,  and  thy 
neighbor  as  thyself. ' '  But  loving  God  then  simply 
meant  obeying  His  commandments,  under  the 
stress  of  temporal  punishments  and  with  the 
promise  of  temporal  rewards.  It  was  a  "Scholas- 
tic" system;  so  that  St.  Paul  called  the  Law  a 
"Schoolmaster"!  to  bring  man  to  Christ. 

As  an  example  of  loving  one's  neighbor  the  old 
law  was  to  help  any  poor  brother  Israelite  in  dis- 
tress, by  lending  him  such  as  he  needed,  and  not 
to  harden  his  heart,  etc4 

This  kind  of  compulsory  good  behavior  does 
not  tend  to  develop  spontaneous  generosity,  nor 

*The  Kaiser  did  not  even  respect  this.     ^iGal.,  3,  24.     ^Deut, 
15,  7  ff . 


AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE    121 

even  a  conscience;  not  that  the  conscience  did  not 
exist,  but  it  was  as  a  general  rule  undeveloped ;  so 
that  there  was  no  name  for  it  in  Hebrew.  Never- 
theless, David  was  conscience-stricken  after  he 
had  been  rebuked  by  the  prophet  Nathan. 

St.  Paul,  on  the  other  hand,  frequently  uses  tho 
word.  This  shows  one  chief  difference  between 
the  two  Testaments.  The  tables  of  stone  are  re- 
placed by  the  fleshy  table  of  the  heart.  The  Law 
was  external;  now  it  is  a  natural  one  and  internal. 
The  use  of  threatened  punishments  is  gone,  and 
natural  results  take  their  place.  Tliere  is  no 
longer  any  temporal  reivard,  but  consequences  of 
a  good  life  will  follow  in  this  and  the  next  world. 
Such  depend  upon  the  cultivation  of  **Love"  in 
this  world,  as  Our  Lord  clearly  shows  in  His  par- 
able of  the  Judgment  Day;  which  should  never 
he  forgotten. 

This  proves  what  Love  clearly  means ;  affection 
may  or  may  not  be  present.  It  is  the  Reverence 
for  God  and  Christ  coupled  with  FaitJi  which, 
however,  remains  simply  a  "head-belief"  and  is 
of  no  value,  until  it  is  proved  by  icorks  of  love.  It 
is  respect  coupled  with  a  ivilling  self-sacrifice — a 
spontaneous  and  eager  wish — to  help  others  in 
any  way  one  can,  even  to  risking  one's  life,  for  a 
friend,  stranger  or  foe.  Has  not  the  war  revealed 
that  abundantly'?  Pity  for  a  wounded  foe  was 
thought  to  be  contemptible  by  the  ancients. 
Thanks  to  Christ,  we  treat  a  wounded  Hun  just  as 
one  of  our  own  soldiers.  This  is  to  love  the  enemy 

•P».,  51 ;  //  Sam.,  12,  13.     ^Matt.,  25,  31  ff.     JJos.,  2,  14  ff. 


122    AGAPE,  THE  TKUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE 

in  the  true  Christian  sense.  It  grows  by  cultiva- 
tion until  it  can  become  a  passion  to  do  and  self- 
sacrifipp  is  a  pleasure.  It  is  the  greatest  one  can 
entertain,  when  once  it  is  realized;  as  has  been 
done  by  many  of  our  great  philanthropists  and 
workers  for  God  and  Christ.  Now  this  is  the 
*'Love"  on  the  other  side  as  well  as  on  this;  for 
such  is  the  universal  attestation  by  all  spirits  who 
talk  of  love,  such  as  Julia,  Imperator  Mr.  Heslop ; 
and  our  o^svii  domestic  spirit-friends. 

I  liappened  to  be  explaining  the  above  to  a 
friend,  and  a  spirit  suddenly  broke  in:  *'Tell  the 
Little  ]\Ian  he  is  quite  right ! 

Our  Lord  took  a  common  Greek  word  for  love, 
and  elevated  it  to  the  highest  place  of  honor  in 
Christianity.    It  is  Agape. 

AVhen  He  gave  that  test-question  to  Peter: 
**Lovest  thou  Me?"  He  used  the  corresponding 
verb:  ''Agapes  thou  MeT't  Peter  did  not  under- 
stand Him,  and  replied  with  the  ordinary  verb 
then  in  use:  *'Thou  knowest  that  I  philo  Thee."| 

A  different  Hebrew  word   was  used  to  kiss 

*See  7  Cor.,  ch.  13.  fJo/jn,  21,  15.  JThe  verb  "to  love" 
and  the  noun  "Love"  in  Greek  had  a  variety  of  significations, 
as  used  in  the  Septuagint.  Thus:  (1)  Marital  love  as  of  Jacob  for 
Eachel  {Gen.,  29,  10)  ;  It  is  the  same  word  for  a  lover  {Can- 
tides,  passim)  ;  (2)  It  is  used  to  mean  respect  and  consideration 
for  others,  as  neighbors  {Lev.,  19,  18);  and  for  the  proselyte 
{Deut.,  10,  18).  It  passed  into  a  meaning  for  abstract  ideas  as  for 
Eighteousness  and  Salvation  {Ps.,  70,  4)  ;  to  love  the  Law  {Ps., 
119,  166);   Love  of  the  keeping  of  her  Law." 

Another  word  was  phiJein  to  "love"  as:  "Savoury  meat  such 
as  I  love,"  Gen.,  27.  4.  Wisdom  says  "1  love  {agapan)  them  that 
love  me"  philein  {Prov.,  8,  17).  Similarly,  "whoso  loevth 
wisdom"  {Prov.,  29,  3);  to  love  cakes  of  raisins  {Eos.,  3,  1). 


AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE    123 

{Gen.,  27,  26.),  but  philein  subsequently  meant 
"to  kiss"  also;*  for  in  classical  Greek  this  verb 
was  practically  confined  to  personal  love  and 
also  in  later  times  to  be  fond  of  doing  things,  etc. 
Hence  to  Peter  himself  it  was  more  appropriate 
than  the  "reverential  love"  implied  by  Agape 
and  Agapan.i 

It  does  not  replace  ordinary  love  by  casting  out 
affection ;  but  tends  to  carry  it  with  it.  It  is  even 
shown  by  spirits  to  ourselves  on  earth.  Controls 
frequently  express  their  love  for  those  to  whom 
they  write.  Thus  one  invariably  addresses  our 
Lady  writer:  "Love,  we,  etc."  They  are  good 
enough  to  express  their  love  for  myself. 

Julia  has  much  to  say — and  she  says  it  enthusi- 
astically— about  Love  on  the  other  side.  The  fol- 
lowing are  a  few  sentences  extracted  almost  at 
random  from  her  communications. 

"There  is  nothing  to  which  you  can  compare 
our  constantly  loving  state  in  this  world:  To  love 
anyone  really,  truly,  means  that  we  are  puttinp 
ourselves  in  his  place,  loving  him  as  ourselves, 
that  we  desire  for  him  the  best  and  give  up  our 
selves  and  our  pleasure  in  order  to  secure  it  for 
him.  This  is  true  love,  and  wherever  you  find  it, 
you  find  a  spark  of  God." 

Writing  across  the  border  to  a  dear  Friend, 
Julia  says  to  her:  "0,  Ellen,  Ellen!  If  I  could 
come  back  and  speak  in  the  ears  of  the  childre]i 
of  men  I  thiiik  I  should  wish  to  say  nothing  but 
this — Love,  Lovo  is  the  fulfill iiig  of  the  law;  Love 

'Matt.,  26,  48.    .Judas  kissed  .Jesus,     -fjohn,  21,  55  ff. 


124   AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE 

is  the  seeing  of  the  face  of  God.  Love  is  God,  God 
is  Love.  If  you  wish  to  be  with  God — Love!  If 
you  wish  to  be  in  Heaven — Love!  Love  is  the 
first  and  last  word." 

Like  Julia  and  others,  the  writer  of  Christ  in 
You  has  frequent  allusions  to  the  prevailing 
*'Love"  on  the  other  side. 

''Heaven  is  not  a  place,  but  a  consciousness  of 
God  ...  As  you  emerge  into  this  all-pervading 
love,  the  true  life  becomes  manifest  and  is  alwaj'^s 
the  answer  to  the  deepest  and  highest  aspirations 
of  the  soul.   It  is  Love  fulfilling  itself. 

"Do  not  only  weep  with  those  who  weep,  but 
help  them  by  a  mighty  love." 

*'Love  is  pressing  through  the  very  atmosphere 
round  about  us  and  you.  Love  requires  readiness 
and  obedience ;  and  we  are  called  to  do  its  bidding. 
Are  you  willing  to  obey  even  unto  the  death  of  the 
Cross?  That  cross  is  the  place  of  your  sacrifice 
for  all  men.  All  must  go  to  Calvary,  there  to  be- 
come one  with  the  Father.  Greater  love  hath  no 
man  than  this.  Love  is  the  atmosphere  wherein 
all  that  is  highest  is  nourished  and  fed.  Love 
dwells  in  every  human  life,  however  degraded  it 
may  seem  to  you.  Love  much,  and  Christ  shall 
do  His  work  through  you;  for  He  loves  your 
"world,  and  \^^ll  never  cease  until  it  has  become  the 
Kingdom  of  Heaven."  The  loving  personality  re- 
mains. 

**I  can  tell  you  for  a  certainty  that  you  will 
retain  your  personality  just  as  long  as  you  neer' 
it;  and  you  will  need  it  much  longer  yet.   I  am 


AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE   125 

allowed  to  say  that  the  meeting  with  your  loved 
ones  will  be  sweetly  familiar,  a  great  deal  better 
than  you  can  imagine,  for  they  and  you  will  be 
enriched  by  the  love  between  you.  Your  loss  is 
always  gain.  You  can  help  them  by  your  love  and 
prayer,  and  they  help  you;  think  often  of  them. 
.  .  .  There  is  nothing  untoward  or  strange.  You 
are  here  just  what  you  have  made  yourselves,  and 
they  who  love  you  would  not  have  you  with  them 
until  you  have  finished.  In  fact,  you  are  near  them 
now;  but  the  veil  is  over  you  at  present.  Love, 
Love,  Love.    This  is  the  potent  force!*  c 

*'As  your  Scriptures  tell  you  repeatedly  the 
continuity  of  life  is  no  more  broken  when  the 
breath  leaves  the  body  than  the  continuity  of 
child-life  broken  by  the  incident  of  birth.  St.  Paul 
says  that  Christ  Jesus  abolished  death  and 
brought  life  and  incorruption  to  light.f  It  is  the 
means  by  which  life  is  liberated,  becoming  more 
intense.  Memory  exists,  although  we  have  learned 
the  power  to  dissolve  [it?]  into  nothingness — this 
is  true  forgetfulness — all  that  is  not  of  use.t  But 
I  would  have  you  know  that  you  are  greater  than 
your  form,  that  you  have  no  limit.  "§ 

As  Julia  and  others,  including  our  own.  spirit- 
friends,  speak  of  ''Love,"  so  Private  Dowding 
writes:  "I  want  to  say  a  few  words  about  love. 
Also,  because  love  is  spoken  about  too  much  al- 

*0p.  cit.,  p.  132.  f/Z  Tim.,  1,  10.  Jl  have  remarkori  olso- 
where  that  Bpirits  seem  to  forget  much  of  their  life  passed  en 
earth.  ^Christ  in  You,  p.  134.  If  a  medium  asks  a  spirit,  iii 
the  habit  of  communicating  with  ua:  "Are  you  here  now?" 
The  reply  may  be :  "  No,  we  are  not  here  at  present. ' ' 


126   AGAPE,  THE  TRD'E  CHEISTIAN  LOVE 

ready,  whereas  it  should  he  lived."  By  which  he, 
of  course,  ireans  Agape  or  Spiritual  Enthusiasm 
of  doing  good.  "Never  cease  from  loving.  Jesus 
said  a  good  deal  about  Love.  Look  up  what  He 
said  and  live  it. 

"Love  God  by  pouring  yourself  away.  Love 
your  fellows  by  giving  them  all  you  possess  of 
light  and  truth. 

"Love,  LOVE,  for  her  o^vn  blessed  sake.  Such 
love  will  bring  you  nearer  heaven."* 

Let  the  reader  remember  how  St.  James  defines 
"Religion":  "Pure  Heligion  and  undefiled  before 
God  the  Father  is — to  visit  the  fatherless  and 
widows  in  the  affliction;  and  to  keep  himself  un- 
spotted from  the  world."!    That  is  Love. 

Now  turn  to  St.  Paul's  "Psalm  of  Love"|  and 
lastly  to  the  "Final  Reward. "§ 

Another  spirit  writer  sajs  the  same  thing  in  the 
following  words:  "This  countless  spirit  multi- 
tude all  know  and  love  one  another.  They  gather 
together  from  the  far  parts  of  space  and  from  the 
higher  worlds  to  communicate  the  result  of  their 
missions  and  labors.  No  jealousy  and  no  after- 
thought can  arise  in  these  pure  spirits.  Love, 
Faith  and  Sincerity  preside  over  tl.ose  re- 
unions. "|I 

No  wonder  is  it  that  St.  Paul  could  conclude  his 
memorable  "Psalm  of  Love"  with  the  words: 
"Now  abidetli  these  throe,  Faith,  Hope  and  Love; 
but  the  greatest  of  these  is  Loi;e."° 

*0p.  cit.,  pp.  65  fF.    fJas.,  1,  27.    %!  Cor.,  13.    %MaU.,  25,  31  ff. 
Here  and  Hereafter,  by  M.  Leon  Denis,  p.  238.     °I  Cor.,  13,  13. 


AGAPE,  THE  TEUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE    127 

Love  or  Agape,  tlie  Eiitliuciasm  for  doing  good, 
Is  the  Rock  of  Cliristianity.  It  vras  undeveloiDed 
and  even  unknov/n  in  the  days  covered  by  most  of 
the  Old  Testament,  wherein  the  '^  Righteousness 
of  the  Law"  took  its  place,  i.e.,  merely  obedience 
to  eternal  connuands  under  threats  of  punishment 
or  hopes  of  reward.* 

With  regard  to  the  difierence  between  this 
world  and  the  net,  Clement  of  Alendria,  writing 
at  the  end  of  the  first  century  ujDon  Our  Lord's 
words,  says:  ''  'In  this  world'  (says  the  Saviour) 
'there  is  marriage  and  giving  in  marriage,'  in 
which  alone  the  difference  between  male  and  fe- 
male is  to  be  discovered ;  but  '  in  that  which  is  to 
come,  it  is  not  so.'  There  the  enjoyments  of  that 
friendly  and  holy  life  which  arises  out  of  mar- 
riage, will  not  be  confined  to  male  and  female ;  but 
v/ill  belong  to  man  generally  as  a  species,  when 
earthly  desires  and  he  have  parted  company;  for 
man  is  the  general  name  conuiion  to  both  sexes,  "t 

This  exactly  tallies  with  what  the  spirits  say 
today.  Though  many  are  known  to  have  been 
men  or  women,  others  decline  to  say.   If  we  asl:i 

*Some  of  our  spirit  friends  rebuked  me  for  thinking  too  little 
of  the  value  of  the  Old  Testament;  so  T  asked  for  some  particular 
as  an  example.  They  said:  "In  the  matter  of  rifjiitenusness. " 
So  I  replied  b/  askijiff  if  they  had  rememljcrcd  what  Christ 
KaitI:  "Unless  your  righteousn*^3S  exceed" — that  of  the  Old 
Testament,  i.e.,  the  rijrhteousness  of  merely  obeying  the  Law 
tiiiough  fear. — "Ye  shall  not  enter  the  kingdom  of  Heaven." 
The  Spirits  observed:  "We  had  forgotten  that!"  They  said  in 
iv-ply  to  a  question:  "V/c  are  Methodists."  ■\C]iristia:i  Doctrine 
'f  Practice  in  the  Second  Century.  (Illustrated  in  the  writings 
of  Clement  of  Alexandria;  A.  D.  180  to  A.  D.  202).    1857, 


128    AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE 


one  which  he  was,  the  reply  is:  ''We  decline  to 
say;  we  have  no  passions." 

Similarly  Mr.  Heslop  says:  ''It  is  only  as  we 
pass  into  this  fuller  life  here,  that  we  can  in  any 
adequate  measure  grasp  its  real  meaning,  the  full 
glory  of  love.  For  here  it  is  the  very  air  we 
breathe,  the  essence  of  our  being.  It  is  all  love, 
radiating  from  the  Divine  Father,  and  filling  us 
with  unutterable  joy  and  bliss." 

I  have  italicized  two  phrases;  to  remind  the 
reader  that  St.  John  used  the  same  expression  of 
"glory"  as  applicable  to  both  God  and  Christ,  an 
echo  of  Our  Lord's  own  words,  summed  up  in 
"God  IS  Love,"  while  "glory"  means  "Char- 
acter," or  "grace  and  truth." 

Mr.  Heslop 's  eulogy  of  Love  runs  strictly  par- 
allel with  that  of  Julia  and  is  echoed  by  other 
writers;  while  our  own  domestic  spirit-friends, 
who  tell  us  they  "know  nothing  of  theology  but 
all  practice  love." 

Mr.  Heslop  has  much  to  say  on  the  practical 
work  of  Love  on  the  other  side  f^hown  by  the  re- 
deeming spirits.  For  example.  'We  are  rejoic- 
ing to-day  because  we  have  brought  up  one  out  of 
the  bitterness  of  despair  into  the  first  glimmering 
of  hope  and  light  and  love.  So  you  see  I  have  been 
at  work  and  my  labors  have  not  been  in  vain." 

"You  see,  we  can  do  absolutely  nothing  till  the 
desire  for  purity  and  goodness  aivakens  within 
the  soul.  We  have  watched  th.is  one,  longing  for 
the  first  gleam  of  desire  after  holiness,  and,  thank 


AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE    129 

God,  this  was  my  message  on  Monday.  So  I  flew 
to  him  with  other  loving  spirits,  that  we  might 
foster  that  little  flame  of  good  desire,  for  fear  it 
flickered  out  into  despair.  Truly  there  is  joy 
among  the  angels  when  one  sinner  shall  repent."* 

Imperator  enumerates  in  his  Spirit  Teachings 
the  following  as  being  all  embraced  by  Love  or 
Agape:  "Tolerance  for  divergence  of  opinion; 
charitable  construction  of  doubtful  words  and 
deeds ;  kindliness  in  intercourse ;  readiness  to  help 
without  any  desire  for  recompensef;  courtesy! 
and  gentleness^  of  demeanor ;  patience  under  mis- 
representations, honesty  and  integrity  of  purpose, 
tempered  by  loving-kindness  and  forbearance; 
sympathy  with  sorrow;  mercyll,  pity  and  tender- 
ness of  heart;  respect  for  authority  in  its  sphere]! 
and  respect  for  the  rights  of  the  weak  and  frail.^I 
These  and  kindred  qualities,  w^hich  are  the  very 
essence  of  the  Christ-like  character,  which  we  sun^ 
up  in  the  one  Avord  "Charity"  or  "Active  Love."" 

Imperator,  in  replying  to  Mr.  Stainton  Moses' 
question  as  to  the  perpetuation  of  marriage  ties 
hereafter,  observes;  "That  depends  entirely  on 
similarity  of  taste  and  equality  of  development. 
In  the  case  of  this  being  attained,  the  spirits  can 

*Speaking  across  the  Border-line,  pp.  30,  32.  ^Luke,  6,  35. 
XI  Pet.,  3,  8.  §" Gentleness"  as  applied  to  Christ  (7/  Cor., 
10,  1)  means  "kindly  considerate,"  as  the  rich  man  in  the 
parable  of  the  king  and  his  servants  (Matt.,  18,  27)  ;  while  the 
converse  is  seen  in  the  wicked  servant,  5,  30,  Cp.  Jos.  3,  17: 
"Gentle,  easy  to  be  entreated."  (The  second  word  explains 
the  first).  ||/  Pet.,  2,  17.  ^Jas.,  1,  27.  °"  Spirit  Teachings,  p. 
155.  The  word  "Charity"  is  derived  from  the  Latin  Caritas 
of  the  Vulgate,  through  the  French  Charite. 


130   AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE 

progress  side  by  side  .  .  .  but  there  can  be  no 
community  of  interest  save  between  congenial 
souls.  Consequently  no  tie  can  be  perpetuated 
which  is  not  a  help  to  progress.  The  loving  bonds 
which  encircle  souls  are  the  greatest  incentive  to 
mutual  development  and  so  the  relations  are  per- 
petuated. All  souls  that  are  mutually  helpful  re- 
main in  loving  intercourse  as  long  as  it  is  profit- 
able to  them.  Wlien  the  period  arrives  at  which 
it  is  more  profitable  for  them  to  separate,  they  go 
their  way  without  sorrow ;  for  they  can  still  com- 
mune and  share  each  other's  interests.  You  can- 
not understand  how  souls  can  be  apart,  as  you 
count  space,  and  yet  be,  as  you  would  say,  inti- 
mately united.    We  hnoiv  no  time,  no  space. 

''Love  unites  spirits  at  whatever  distance,  e.g., 
the  T\ife  may  love  the  degraded,  besotted  ruffian 
who  mutilates  her  and  strives  to  crush  her  spirit. 
The  hour  of  dissolution  will  free  her  from  slavery 
and  pain.  She  will  soar  w^hile  he  will  sink,  but  the 
bond  of  love  will  not  be  snapped,  though  the 
spirits  may  no  longer  consort  together.  Space 
with  us  does  not  exist;  so  you  may  dimly  under- 
stand that  with  us  union  means  identity  of  devel- 
opment, community  of  interest,  mutual  and  affec- 
tionate progression.  We  know  of  no  such  indis- 
soluble ties  as  exist  w^ith  5^ou."* 

St.  James  in  his  Definition  of  the  Christian 
Religion  adds  a  man's  Duty  to  Himself,  as  well  as 
Love  to  others;  viz.,  in  the  words:  ''Keep  himself 
unspotted  from  the  world."! 

*Spirit   Teachings,   pp.   45,   46.      fJas.,    1,   27. 


AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE    131 

Imperator  sums  up  this  part  of  man's  duty  as 
i'ollows : 

"Let  him  crush  self,  purify  his  inmost  Spirit, 
driving  out  impurity  as  a  plague,  and  elevating 
his  aims  to  their  highest  possible.  Let  him  love 
Truth  as  his  Deity,  to  which  all  else  shall  how; 
let  him  follow  it  as  his  sole  aim,  careless  whither 
the  quest  may  lead  him,  and  round  him  shall  circle 
the  messengers  of  the  most  High,  and  in  his  in- 
most soul  he  shall  see  light." 

•^  Imperatok. 

Such  is  the  preparation  of  a  man's  o^^^l  char- 
acter, not  onl}^  for  the  negative  duty  of  ''keeping 
unspotted  from  the  world"!  but  for  the  active 
life  of  humanitj^,  or  practical  v/ork  on  behalf  of 
others;  but  whatever  is  done  to  them  is  done  to 

Christ.t 

Some  of  our  domestic  spirits  once  suddenly 
remarked:  "We  want  you  to  do  work  for  the 
Virgin  Mary.  We  are  Roman  Catholics;  you 
Protestant  Religion  has  too  much  ritual.  There 
should  be  more  of  the  inner  man." 

I  did  not  reply  with  a  tu  quoque;  but  this  re- 
quest showed  that  they  had  not  3^et  learned  to  see 
that  Roman  Catliolicism  had  tended  to  displace 
Christ  from  His  supreme  position,  on  the  other 
side.  They  had  probably  forgotten  His  saying: 
''Whatsoever  ye  do  unto  the  least  of  these  My 
brethren,  ve  do  it  unto  Me." 

It  is  interesting  to  fmd  that  in  the  Middle  Ages 
a  Saint  could  likewise  completely  take  the  place 

♦Op.  Cii.,  p.  285.     ^Jas.,  1,  27.     X^ati.,  25,  40. 


132    AGAPE,  THE  TKUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE 

of  Our  Lord.  In  the  Chronicle  of  Jocelin  of 
Brakeland  (Bury  St.  Edmunds)  dating  from  1173 
to  1202,  Mr.  F.  E.  Tomlins,  who  translated  it, 
writes  as  follows:  ''Throughout  the  whole  of 
Jocelin 's  Chronicle  {i.e.,  of  the  events  at  the  Ab- 
bey, -when  Sampson  of  Pettington  was  Abbot)  the 
name  of  the  Saviour  is  never  once  mentioned. 
'God  at  St.  Edmund,'  'The  Abbot,'  and  'St.  Ed- 
mund' are  phrases  of  common  occurrence;  in- 
deed, nothing  short  of  a  narrative  of  this  descrip- 
tion could  fully  develop  the  degradation  of  the 
Christian  religion  by  means  of  Saint-worship. 
The  King  and  martyrs'  influences  upon  his  vo- 
taries is  supported  by  the  fear  of  vengeance  .  .  . 
Tlie  Chronicler  evidently  felt  convinced  that  true 
religion  and  devotion  consisted  in  the  monkish 
observances  he  is  so  accurate  in  detailing." 

Contrast  this  gross  misimderstanding  of 
Christianity  with  the  following  example  of  what 
the  Truth  really  is,  as  to  Our  Lord's  teaching. 

We  have  seen  how  Mr.  He  slop  was  sent  to  the 
debased  spirits  to  try  and  elevate  them  on  the 
other  side.  The  following  is  what  is  being  done 
on  this  earth. 

The  nearest  approach  to  this  loving  work  car- 
ried on  by  Spirit-Missionaries  on  the  other  side, 
is  the  voluntary  efforts  of  the  Salvation  Army  to 
rescue  the  fallen  and  debased  all  over  the  world. 
Hear  one  from  London. 

After  describing  the  awful  state  of  the  streets 
in  "A  Part  of  London,"  the  writer  proceeds: 
"Lot  me  put  the  common  question  but  with  real 


AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE    13? 

emphasis :  Would  you  allow  a  dog  to  live  in  these 
streets  ? 

"Well,  into  these  streets  come  day  after  day, 
and  every  Sunday,  the  little  vigorous  corps  of  the 
Salvation  Army  stationed  in  this  quarter  of  Lon- 
don. The  Adjutant  of  this  corps  some  years  ago 
was  a  beautiful  and  delicate  girl.  She  prayed  at 
the  bedside  of  dying  men  and  women  in  these 
lodging  houses.  She  taught  children  to  pray ;  she 
went  into  public  houses  and  persuaded  the  violent 
blackguards  of  the  town  to  come  away ;  she  plead- 
ed with  the  most  desperate  women  of  street  corn- 
ers ;  she  preached  in  the  open  streets  on  Sundays ; 
she  stood  guard  over  the  doors  of  men  mad  for 
drink  and  refused  to  let  them  in.  On  one  occasion 
this  little  woman  was  walking  home  through  evil 
streets  after  midnight,  when  a  drunken  man 
asked  her  if  he  might  travel  by  her  side.  After 
going  some  way  the  man  said:  'No,  you  aren't 
afraid';  and  then  he  muttered  to  himself:  'Never 
insults  the  likes  of  you  because  you  care  for  the 
likes  of  us*  'Ah!'  exclaimed  an  old  gaol-bird, 
showing  me  the  photograph  of  this  woman,  'If 
anybody  goes  to  heaven,  it'll  be  that  little  angel 
of  God.'  " 

"They  call  her  the  'Angel- Adjutant.'  "  ^¥hai 
is  this  but  a  beautiful,  practical  illustration  of 
Agape? 

"The  Gospel  of  humanity,"  writes  Imperator, 
"is  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  Christ.    It  is  the  only 

•.Tuat  BO  8ai<l  a  Hindu.  Agape  or  Christian  Love  or  En- 
thusiasm of  Humanity  is  the  practical  saving  of  the  world. 


134   AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE 

Gospel  that  man  needs,  the  only  one  that  can 
reach  his  wants  and  minister  to  his  necessities." 
''We  continue  to  preach  that  same  evangel.  By 
'commission  from  the  sam.e  God,  by  authority  and 
inspiration  from  the  same  source,  do  we  come  no\\ 
as  apostles  of  this  heaven-sent  Gospel.  We  declare 
truths  purified  from  the  glosses  and  misinterpre- 
tations wliich  man  has  gathered  round  it.  We 
would  spiritualize  that  which  man  has  hidden 
under  a  heap  of  materialism." 

Of  such  missionaries  Imperator  observes :  "You 
have  among  you  on  earth  spirits  bright  and  noble, 
whose  mission  in  the  earth-life  is  among  the  dens 
of  infamy  and  haunts  of  vice,  who  are  preparing 
for  themselves  a  crown  of  glory,  whose  brightest 
jewels  are  ^elf-sacrifice  and  love.  So  amongst  us 
there  are  spirits  who  give  themselves  to  work  in 
the  spheres  of  the  degraded  and  abandoned.  By 
their  efforts  many  spirits  rise,  and  when  rescued 
from  degradation,  work  out  a  long  and  laborious 
purification  in  the  probation  spheres,  where  they 
are  removed  from  influences  for  evil,  and  en- 
trusted to  the  care  of  the  pure  and  goorl.  So  the 
desire  for  holiness  is  encouraged  and  the  spirit 
is  purified." 

*'They  that  will  not  seek  for  anything  that  is 
good,  that  Y\^allow  in  impurity  and  vice,  sink  lower 
and  lower,  until  they  lose  conscious  identity,  and 
become  practically  extinct,  so  far  as  personal  ex- 
istence is  concerned." 

''This  is  the  unpardonable  sin.   Unpardonanh- 


0-. 


AGAPE,  THE  TRUE  CHRISTIAN  LOVE    13 

not  because  the  Supreme  vnll  not  pardon  them, 
but  because  the  sinner  chooses  it  to  be  so.  Unpar- 
donable, because  the  pardon  is  imijossible  where 
sin  is  cognenial  and  penitence  unfelt." 

''Punishment  is  ever  the  immediate  consequence 
of  sin;  it  is  of  its  essence,  not  arbitrarily  meted 
out,  but  the  inevitable  result  of  tJie  violatioyi  of 
laiv.  The  consequences  of  such  transgression  can- 
not be  altogether  averted,  though  they  may  be 
palliated  by  remorse,  the  effect  of  which  is  U 
breed  a  loathing  for  sin,  and  a  desire  for  good. 
This  is  the  first  step,  the  retracing  of  false  steps, 
the  undoing  of  error,  and  by  consequence  the 
creation  in  the  spirit  of  another  longing.  The 
spiritual  atmosphere  is  changed,  and  into  it  good 
angels  enter  readily  and  aid  the  striving  soul. 
It  is  isolatod  from  all  evil  agencies.  Remorse  and 
sorrow^  are  fostered.  The  spirit  becomes  gentle 
and  tender,  amenable  to  influences  of  good.  So 
the  results  of  former  sins  are  purged  away,  and 
the  length  and  bitterness  of  punishment  allevi- 
ated.   This  is  true  for  all  time." 


CHAPTEK  X 

THE    TRUE    SPIRITUAL    MEANINGS    OF 
''HEAVEN"  AND  ''HELL" 

LifebeyrmJ^tlifi  ,  Border-line.— The    Universality    of    Love. 

TnTimir&ble  la^vs  govern  our  Heeds   on  Earth As   "Heaven,"  is 

within  us  (L^lke,  v7,  21),  so  is  "Hell."— No  punishment  from 
;\vithout  but  natural  results  of  the  consciousness  of  sin. — Always 
remedial  by  repentance. — M.  Leon  Denis  on  "Judgment"  by 
the  Conscience. — The  meaning  of  Gehenna. — Julia's  expression 
"Hatred  is  Hell"  and  "Love  is  Heaven." — The  Sinner  cannot 
"see  God";  but  the  pure  in  heart  shall  (Matt.,  5,  8). — The 
effects  of  selfishness. — Our  characters  become  visible  to  all  on 
the  other  side. — Private  Dowding's  experiences. — Further  con- 
firniatioDs.— Mr.  Heslop 's  mission  to  the  "  lost.  "—Julia 's  account 
of  the  Messengers  of  Love,  who  meet  all  alike,  good  and  bad, 
on  their  passing  over;  but  the  latter  cannot  see  them; — thus 
confirming  Dowding's  own  experience  of  the  "clouds"  around 
him. — "The  sin  of  omission"  not  specified  by  the  spirits,  but 
strongly  condemned  by  Jesus  Christ   (Matt.,  25,  31  ff). 

hnperator  writes:  "Immntable  laws  govern  the 
results  of  deeds.  Deeds  of  good  advance  the 
spirits,  whilst  deeds  of  evil  degrade  and  retard 
them.  Happiness  is  fomid  in  progress  and  in 
gradual  assimilation  to  the  God-like  and  the  per- 
fect. The  spirit  of  divine  love  assimilates  the  acts 
and  in  mutual  blessing  the  spirits  find  their  hap- 
piness. For  them  there  is  no  craving  for  sluggish 
idleness,  no  cessation  of  desire  for  progressive 
advancement  in  knowledge.  Human  passions 
and  human  needs  and  wishes  are  gone  with  the 
body  and  the  spirit  lives  a  spirit-life  of  purity, 
progress,  and  love.    Such  is  its  heaven.    We  know 

136 


HEAVEN  AND  HELL  137 

of  no  hell  save  that  -within  the  soul — a  hell  which 
is  fed  by  the  flame  of  unpurified  and  untamed 
lust  and  passion,  which  is  kept  alive  by  remorse 
and  agony  of  sorrow,  whi?h  is  fraught  with  the 
pangs  that  spring  unbidden  from  the  results  of 
past  misdeeds;  and  from  which  the  only  escape 
lies  in  retracing  the  steps  and  cultivating  the 
qualities  which  shall  bear  fruit  in  love  and  the 
knowledge  of  God. 

"Of  'punishments'  we  know,  indeed,  but  it  is 
not  the  vindictive  lash  of  an  angry  God;  but  the 
natural  outcome  of  conscious  sin,  remediable  by 
repentance  and  reparation,  personally  wrought 
out  in  pain  and  shame,  not  by  coward  cries  for 
mercy. ' ' 

Here  again,  as  our  own  spirit  friends  said  of 
the  German  soldier:  "He  comes  to  us,  too,  but  we 
can  do  nothing  until  he  truly  repents.  These  re- 
grets for  what  he  is  suffering  will  not  help  him." 

M.  Leon  Deuis  confirms  Imperator  by  what  he 
too  learned  from  the  spirit  land.  This  writer  dedi- 
cates his  book  Here  and  Hereafter:  "To  the 
Great  and  Noble  Spirits  who  have  revealed  to  me 
the  august  Mysteries  of  Destiny,  Whose  Teach- 
ings have  strengthened  within  me  the  Sentiment 
of  Justice,  the  Love  of  Wisdom  and  of  Duty." 

He  tlius  gives  us  the  views  of  the  Spirits  on 
The  Judgment:  "The  recompense  of  Chastise- 
ment of  tlie  spirit  proceeds  from  its  own  Con- 
science. It  comes  from  witliin  and  not  from  witli- 
out.  The  Spirit  is  its  own  judge;  when  the  vest- 


138  HEAVEN  AND  HELL 

ment  of  flesh  has  fallen  away,  the  light  penetrates 
and  the  soul  is  laid  bare;  then,  within  it  there 
appear,  clear-cut  as  a  living  picture,  all  its  deeds, 
thoughts  and  desires  .  .  .  This  evocation  of  the 
past  entails  the  dread  sentence — the  Judgment 
of  his  own  Conscience,  which  is,  in  a  manner,  the 
judgment  of  God.  Painful  though  this  self-exami- 
nation may  be,  it  is  necessary,  for  it  may  form 
the  basis  of  a  new  resolve  which  will  lead  to  re- 
generation."* 

Our  Lord  again  and  again  doomed  certain 
characters  to  Gehenna;!  which  gave  rise  to  the 
idea  of  hell,  where  sinners  were  supposed  to  burn 
for  ever!  Julia  says:  *' People  do  not  believe  in 
the  hell  of  fire  any  more,  but  they  have  by  their 
recoil  forgotten  that  there  is  a  *real  hell/  for 
Hatred  is  hell,  and  God  is  with  all  who  love,  and 
those  who  do  not  love  are  without  God"  .  .  . 
''There  is,  when  the  loveless  soul  comes  here,  as 
much  care  taken  to  welcome  it  as  when  the  soul 
of  love  arrives.  But  the  selfish  soul  is  blind  and 
dark,  and  shudders  in  the  dark.  The  imagination, 
which  here  is  far  more  powerful  than  with  you, 
fills  the  solitude  with  spectres,  and  the  sinner 
feels  he  is  encompassed  by  the  constantly  renewed 
visions  of  his  deeds.  Nor  is  this  all;  he  sees  those 
whom  he  has  injured,  and  he  fears.  If  ever  a  sou^ 

*0p.  cit.,  pp.  2,  6  ff.  iA  valley  named  after  the  "son  of  Hin- 
noni,"  a  man  of  whom  nothing  is  known.  Human  sacrifices  were 
offered  there;  and  it  was  the  place  of  destruction  by  fire  of  the 
offal  and  refuse  of  the  city  of  Jerusalem;  and  so  kept  constantly 
burning.  Hence  it  became  a  sy<mbol  of  the  imaginary  placo  of 
d'^struction   of  the  wicked. 


HEAVEN  AND  HELL  luv 

needs  a  Saviour  and  Deliverer,  it  is  when  imagi- 
nation and  memory  tvithout  love  recreate  all  anew 
the  selfish  acts  of  a  loveless  life." 

^*The  sinfulness  of  sin  (writes  Julia)  chiefly 
shows  itself  in  the  inability  to  'see'  God.*  The 
'punishment'  of  sin  which  is  remedial,  is  the  sense 
of  a  loneliness  and  darkness  which  overwhelms 
the  loveless  souls  when  they  come  into  this  world ; 
the  atmosphere  of  which  is  eternal  love.  This 
they  endure  until  such  time  as  they  love.  "Wlien 
they  love,  they  turn  to  God,  and  see  in  the  dark- 
ness a  ray  of  the  Love,  infinite  and  everlasting, 
in  which  they  are  able  to  realize,  as  we  do,  that 
the}''  live  and  move  and  have  their  being."! 

Julia  here  applies  to  the  other  v^orld  precisely 
what  St.  Paul  said  of  the  heathen  Greeks  who 
w^ere  seekers  after  God.:j: 

M.  Leon  Denis  again  thus  writes^:  ''Selfish 
men,  those  ^^^ho  are  exclusively  taken  up  with  their 
0"\vn  pleasures  and  interests,  are  preparing  for 
themselves  a  painful  future.  Loving  but  them- 
selves— having  neither  helped,  sustained  nor  con- 
soled any  other  soul  in  need — they  now  find  in 
this  new  life  neither  sympathy  nor  aid.  Lonely 
and  abandoned,  time  cows  for  them  monotonously, 
and  slowly  on.  A  gloomy  spleen,  an  anguished 
expectancy,  takes  possession  of  them.  The  regret 
of  lost  hours,  of  a  wasted  life,  a  hatred  for  the 
wretched  interests  that  once  absorbed  them,  tor- 

•This  may  be  contrastofl  with  "The  pure  in  hnart  shall  sec 
God."  ^  After  Death,  pp.  39,  40.  {Matt.,  5,  8).  J  Jets,  17,  22-28. 
\Eere  and  Hereafter  p.  246. 


140  HEAVEN  AND  HELL 

ments  and  crazes  them.  They  suffer  and  wander 
on  until  some  charitable  thought  at  last  occurs  to 
them,  glowing*  in  the  darkness  of  their  night  like 
a  heaven-born  ray  of  hope ;  but  the  dawn  does  not 
finally  appear  until,  acting  on  the  advice  of  some 
enlightened  and  kindly  spirit,  they  sever,  hy  an 
act  of  volition,  the  fluidic  network  that  enmeshes 
them  and  resolutely  determine  to  undertake  a  bet- 
ter career. ' ' 

Julia  writes  as  follows:  ''The  thought  and  in- 
tents of  the  heart,  the  imaginations  of  the  mind, 
these  are  the  things  by  which  we  are  judged ;  for 
it  is  they  which  make  up  and  create  as  it  were  the 
real  character  of  the  inner  self,  which  becomes 
visible  after  the  leaving  of  the  body."i 

''Every  thought  has  a  form;  and  this  shape 
created  by  the  will  [rather,  automatically  by  a 
natural  law?]  is  photographed  in  us,  as  in  a  mirror 
wherein  reflections  would  imprint  themselves.  One 
fluidic  envelope  reflects  and  preserves  like  a  reg- 
ister all  the  facts  of  our  existence  [hence.  Mem- 
ory?] This  register  is  closed  during  life.  The  flesh 
is  the  thick  cover  which  hides  its  contents  from 
us,  but  at  death  it  slowly  opens,  and  its  pages  are 
spread  out  beneath  our  eyes.  The  disembodied 
spirit  thus  bears  within  it,  visible  to  all,  its  heaven 
or  its  hcll.t"  As  Christ  told  the  Jews  that  Heaven 
is  within  us§ ;  so  is  Hell. 

*Cp.,  Matt.,  12,  20.  -fAfter  Death,  p.  10.  iHere  and  Eere- 
after.  (Leon  Denis)  p.  218.  The  above  description  may  seem 
strange  but  if  ' '  thinking "  is  a  form  of  force,  and  all  forces,  as 
well  as  "matter"  are  formed  of  electricity — electrons — then, 
thought  passes  under  the  same  category ;  and  can  presumably  take 
on  its  proper  form  just  as  the  Spirit  body  does.    %LuJce,  17,  20  f. 


HEAVEN  AND  HELL  141 

Speaking  of  the  Spirit-world,  Private  Do^vding 
saj^s:  "It  is  everjAvhere.  The  life  of  Spirit  is 
eternal,  perfect,  supreme.  We  humans  hide  from 
the  light.  We  grovel  among  the  illusions  created 
by  our  thoughts.  We  surround  ourselves  with 
misconceptions;  we  refuse  to  rise  into  the  Christ 
sphere.  The  Christ  sphere  is  every^vhere,  and  yet 
by  some  strange  paradox  we  are  able  to  shut  it 
out  from  view."* 

One's  o^\^l  character  appears  to  create  the  dark 
screen,  not  the  human  will. 

Dowding  speaks  of  a  most  deplorable  being,  in 
"Hell,"  i.e.,  a  "thought  region"  .  .  .  "not  a 
place"  .  .  .  "My  brother  had  been  told  off  to 
rescue  him.  At  first  I  refused  to  go.  Then  I  went 
. . .  An  angel  of  light  came  to  protect  us,  otherwise 
we  should  have  been  lost  in  the  darkness  of  the 
pit."t 

Just  as  others  write,  Dowding  thus  speaks  of  the 
"darkness":  "We  descended  gloomy  avenues. 
The  darkness  grew.  Even  the  angel's  light  grew 
dim."  He  describes  an  extraordinary  but  evil  at- 
traction associated  vnth.  this  place:  "Something 
sensual  within  me  leaped  and  hiirned."  "Those 
who  die  filled  with  thoughts  of  selfishness  and 
sensuality  are  attracted  down  the  grey  avenues  to- 
wards this  hell  of  the  senses."  ^'This  hell  consists 
in  believing  the  unreal  to  be  real.  It  consists  in  the 
lure  of  the  senses  without  the  possibility  of  grati- 

*0p.  cit.,  p.  40  f.  fOp.  cit.,  p.  57.  Mr.  Heslop  similarly  wrote-. 
"I  was  called  away  just  as  you  wcro  taking  down  my  sugges- 
tions. I  went  to  the  dark  places,"  etc.  {Speaking  across  the 
Border-line,  p.  31.) 


142  HEAVEN  AND  HELL 

fying  them."  ...  It  is:  "All  the  thoughts  of  lust 
and  passion,  greed,  hatred,  env^^,  and  above  all, 
selfishness,  passing  through  the  minds  of  men  and 
women,  generate  the  'condition'  called  hell.  Pm^ga- 
tory  and  hell  are  different  states.  Wo  all  must 
needs  pass  through  a  purging,  purifj-ing  process 
after  leaving  earth  life.  I  am  still  in  purgatory, 
some  day  I  shall  rise  above  it.  Tlie  majority  who 
come  over  here  rise  above,  or  rather  tlirough  purg- 
atory into  higher  conditions.  A  ^ninority*  refuse 
to  relinquish  their  thoughts  and  beliefs  in  the 
pleasures  of  sin  and  the  reality  of  the  sense  life. 
They  shik  by  the  weight  of  their  OT^m  thoughts.  No 
outside  power  can  attract  a  man  against  his  ^vill."t 

Such  is  precisely  in  accordance  with  Mr,  Hcs- 
lop's  experience:  "You  see,"  he  says,  "we  can  do 
absolutely  nothing  till  the  desire  for  purity  and 
goodness  awakens  within  the  soul."t  In  Mr.  Hes- 
lop's  case  the  man  did  show  a  spark,  or  "gleam,  of 
desire,"  so  he,  with  other  loving  spirits,  at  once 
flew  to  aid  him.  Not  so,  in  the  case  of  Dowding's. 
The  angel  and  his  brother  had  to  return  for  "He 
would  not  come  away ;  they  had  to  leave  him  .  .  . 
Fear  held  him.  He  said  his  existence  w^as  awful ; 
but  he  was  afraid  to  move  lest  worse  conditions 
should  befall  him."§ 

Another  writer]]  supplies  an  interesting  com- 
ment on  the  words  of  St.  Paul;  it  came  from  a 
"Messenger,"  one  of  a  group  led  by  "The  Strong 

*So  our  spirit  said  he  believed  that  there  were  but  few  who 
thus  annihilate  themselves  in  the  ' '  Second  Death. ' '  f Private 
Dowding,  55,  ff  .  %SpeaJcing  across  the  Border-line,  p.  32.  §0p. 
cit.,  p.  57.     WAutomatic  Speahing  and  Writing,  p.  43. 


HEAVEN  AND  HELL  143 

Spirit"  and  ''The  Priest":  ''Imagine  for  a  mo- 
ment what  that  change  must  be  to  the  individual 
whose  individuality  is  almost  entirely  mortal.  The 
immortal  spirit  comes  like  an  untimely  birth  into  a 
spiritual  world* — and  man,  giving  up  the  ghost 
where  is  he  ?  Oh !  lost  souls  are  no  dream !  Lost 
souls  by  thousands  come  into  spirit-life,  and  are 
lost  in  this  way ;  that  the  mental  individuality  is 
gone,  and  the  immortal  spirit  gropes  and  wails, 
and  requires  to  be  fed,  and  is  as  helpless  as  the 
infant  born  before  its  time.  The  rightly  appointed 
process  has  not  been  carried  on.  The  poor  im- 
mortal spirit  has  been  entombed  in  the  mortal  flesh 
so  that  it  has  not  gro\vn  or  developed  .  .  .  On  the 
other  hand,  if  you  had  seen  out  of  the  poor  claj^ 
such  spirits  or  souls  arise,  as  I  have  seen  rise, 
strong,  gentle  and  brave,  ready  for  the  warfare 
vritli  evil  and  sorrow  in  the  next  life ;  if  you  had 
heard  the  'Well  done,  good  and  faithful,'  you 
would  understand  that  there  is  joy  in  the  presence 
of  the  angels  of  God  over  one  sinner  that  repent- 
eth,  or  rather,  over  one  mortal,  who  on  earth-life 
can  so  put  on  immortality  as  to  enter  spirit-life,  a 
spirit  royal  and  beautiful  and  loving. 

"I  want  you  to  see  that  those  men  and  women 
who  are  redeemed  in  mortal  life  are  born  redeem- 
ers in  spirit-life,  and  are  ready  to  take  orders 
when  they  come." 

A  spirit  who  lately  passed  over  remarked  to  us 
— what  may  l)e  a  common  condition:  "We  are  all 

•"The  natural  man  rcceiveth  not  the  things  of  God;  for  they 
are  foolishneaa  unto  him."     (/  Cor.,  2,  14.) 


144  HEAVEN  AND  HELL 

7iot  very  happy,  for  we  all  feel  tliat  we  might  have 
done  better  on  earth." 

One  can  well  believe  such  to  be  a  universal  ex- 
perience at  first;  but  there  are  plenty  of  helpers 
there  to  show  us  how  to  rise  at  once  if  we  only  will 
to  rise.* 

Yet  another  communication  from  Mr.  Heslop — 
he  writes  to  his  wife  from  the  other  world,  which 
bears  on  this  subject.  *'I  have  been  away  on  a 
mission  to  the  Land  of  Darkness.  I  had  a  sudden 
call  to  go  there  to  help  one  to  whom  I  am  appointed 
to  minister. 

"Your  world  is  in  darkness  when  compared  with 
the  Christ  sphere;  but  it  is  brilliant  when  con- 
trasted with  those  regions  where  I  have  just  been. 
There  are  souls  there  filled  with  the  torture  of 
remorse,  more  bitter  than  anything  you  can  con- 
ceive possible.  Truly  they  must  work  out  their  own 
salvation  with  strong  crying  and  many  tears,  "t 
We  go  to  carry  comfort  to  them.  To  speak  of  the 
love  of  the  Divine  Saviour,  which  alone  can  lead 
them  out  of  darkness  into  His  glorious  light. 

"We  are  rejoicing  to-day  because  we  have 
brought  up  one  out  of  the  bitterness  of  despair 
into  the  first  glimmering  of  hope  and  light  and 
love.  So  you  see  I  have  been  at  work,  and  my 
labor  has  not  been  in  vain." 

What  Julia  says  about  the  wicked  ones  is  as 
follows :  "So  far  as  I  have  been  able  to  ascertain, 

*That  is  who  have  of  themselves  turned  from  wickedness  and 
done  that  which  is  right,  and  thus  saved  their  souls  alive.  {Es., 
18,  27).     jOv.  cit.,  p.  29. 


HEAVEN  AND  HELL  145 

the  Messengers  of  Love  and  Mercy  meet  all  men 
when  they  die.  In  this  there  is  no  distinction  made 
between  the  saved  and  the  lost.*  But  the  latter 
have  not  the  faculty  to  see  him.  The  former  not 
only  profit  by  his  counsels,  but  feel  him  and  know 
he  is  w^ith  them.  It  is  to  all  that  the  good  Lord 
ministers — to  all  on  your  side  and  on  this.  His 
loving  kindness  is  over  all  His  creatures.  But 
some  know  Hun  not,  and  when  He  would  dra^v 
them  nearer  to  His  heart,  they  are  as  if  they  saw, 
heard,  felt  nothing.  They  suffer,  as  it  is  necessary 
that  they  may  be  rid  of  the  sin-stains  which  their 
loveless  life  has  left  upon  their  souls. 

* '  The  sinfulness  of  sin  chiefly  shows  itself  in  the 
inability  to  'see  God,'  whereas  Our  Lord  said: 
'The  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God.'  The  punish- 
ment [or  rather  the  natural  and  inevitable  result], 
of  sin  which  is  remedial,  is  the  sense  of  loneliness 
and  darkness!  which  overwhelms  the  loveless  souls 
when  they  come  into  this  world,  the  atmosphere 
of  which  is  eternal  love.  This  they  endure  until 
such  time  as  they  love.t  "Wlien  they  love,  then 
they  turn  to  God,  and  see  in  the  darkness  a  ray  of 
the  Love  infinite  and  everlasting  in  which  they  are 
able  to  realize,  as  we  do,  that  thej'^  live  and  move 
and  have  their  being. 

''There  is,  when  the  loveless  soul  comes  here, 

"Julia  moans  of  course  the  "gnorl"  and  the  "bad";  "saved" 
and  "lost"  imply  ultimate  conditions,  which  cannot  apply  to 
new  arrivals  on  the  other  side.  fMr.  lleslop  also  speaks  of  this 
"darkness."  ^So  too,  Mr.  lleslop  is  emphatic  on  the  fact  that 
nothing  can  be  done  for  them  until  the  first  sign  of  true  repen- 
tance is  there. 


146  HEAVEN  AND  HELL 

as  mucli  care  taken  to  welcome  it  as  when  the  soul 
of  love  arrives.  But  the  selfish  soul  is  blind  and 
dark,  and  shudders  in  the  dark.  The  imagination, 
which  here  is  far  more  powerful  than  with  you,  fills 
the  solitude  with  specters,  and  the  sinner  feels  he 
is  encompassed  by  the  constantly  renewed  visions 
of  his  deeds.  Nor  is  this  all ;  he  sees  those  whom 
he  has  injured,  and  he  fears.  If  ever  a  soul  needs 
a  Saviour  and  Deliverer,  it  is  when  imagination 
and  memory  without  love  recreate  all  anew  the 
selfish  acts  of  a  loveless  life." 

Julia  leaves  out  of  consideration  the  **sins  of 
omission."  They  are  implied  by  *' Selfishness," 
but  Christ  laid  special  stress  upon  them ;  as  in  His 
parable  of  the  rich  man  and  Lazarus  and  specially 
in  His  parable  of  the  Judgment  Day.  We  must 
assume  that  the  absence  of  love,  as  Julia  says  of 
the  sinner,  is  the  same  thing  as  doing  nothing  for 
Love's  sake. 

I  quote  the  following  extract  of  spirit-teaching, 
through  Mr.  Leon  Denis:  ''With  the  passing  of 
centuries,  Christianity  has  become  vitiated  until  it 
now  exercises  but  a  feeble  and  inadequate  action 
over  man's  life  and  character.  Spiritualism  has 
now  come  to  take  up  and  to  carry  on  the  task  that 
was  allotted  to  Christianity.  Upon  the  invisible 
spirits  has  developed  the  mission  to  set  all  things 
straight,  to  enter  into  the  humblest  as  well  as  into 
the  proudest  dwellings  and — immeasurably  strong 
— to  undertake  the  regeneration  of  humanity. 
The  notion  of  demons  [in  N.  T.  miscall^  "?  'devils  ?] 


HEA\^N  AND  HELL  147 

and  of  a  place  of  endless  torment  can  no  longer 
be  entertained  by  any  sensible  person.  Satan  is 
a  myth,  and  no  creature  is  eternally  condemned  to 
evil."  But  he  may  disappear  in  the  Second 
Death,  if  he  choses  to  ''quench  the  Spirit,"  and 
to  bring  upon  himself  self-annihilation. 


CHAPTER  XI 

THE  DOCTRINE  OF  THE  ATONEMENT  NOT 
ACCEPTED  IN  THE  NEXT  WORLD,  BUT 
REPLACED  BY  THE  *'ATONE-MENT,"  i.e., 
THE  RECONCILIATION  OF  MAN  TO  GOD, 
ON  HIS  SINCERE  REPENTANCE  AND 
AMENDMENT  OF  LIFE.— THE  SACRAMENT 
OF  THE  LORD'S  SUPPER 

Imperafor's  erplanation  of  the  false  doctrine  of  the  Atone- 
ment— corroborated  by  Mr.  Heslop. — Will  the  World  receive  their 
revelation  of  the  Truth? — Mr.  Heslop 's  reply  to  one  who  ex- 
claimed :  "  If  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  did  not  die  in  my  stead,  then 
I  am  for  ever  lost!"— Mr.  Heslop 's  conversion  to  the  truth  on 
the  other  side,  compared  with  Eev.  Stainton  Moses'  regeneration 
on  this  earth. — God's  forgiveness  to  the  contrite  sinner  is  Christ's 
teaching  and  not  any  vicarious  suffering  on  His  part. — Our  sina 
confront  us  on  passing  over. — The  Bible  has  been  misread. — The 
meaning  of  sacrifice. — Ezekiel,  on  man's  own  responsibilities. — 
The  meaning  of  "for"  in  the  New  Testament. — Forgiveness 
follows  true  repentance  instantaneously. — St.  Paul's  teaching  of 
God  * '  reconciling  man  to  Himself. ' ' — Man 's  free-will,  an  essential 
element. — His  Conscience,  the  sole  judge  of  his  conduct. — Mr. 
Lamb's  pamphlet  on  "Unbelief  the  World's  greatest  sin." — The 
true  meanings  of  words  used  in  a  wrong  sense. — What  Christ 
teaches  us. — Agape,  called  "Love,"  is  really  the  "Enthusiasm  of 
the  spirit  of  humanity." — St.  James'  Definition  of  the  Christian 
Eeligion. — Mr.  Lamb's  false  statements. — The  Old  and  the  New 
Covenant — ^Dr.  Westcott's  interpretations. — The  supposed  "Im- 
putation" of  righteousness  from  Christ  to  man,  impossible- 
Terms  explained. — The  true  meaning  of  our  Lord's  death  upon 
the  Cross. — St.  James'  Definition  of  the  Christian  Religion. — This 
is  summed  up  in  Faith  and  Love. — Dt.  Westcott's  interpretation. 
— Illustration  of  false  teaching  in  the  "Revival"  of  1858. — No 
trace  of  the  Atonement  in  the  earliest  Christian  writers,  the 
"Opostolic  Fathers." — The  Spirits  view  of  The  Lord's  Supper. 

148 


DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT        149 

The  Atonement  is  treated  at  lenth  by  Imperator* 
and  also  by  Mr.  Heslop;  and  they  are  perfectly 
"at  one"  on  this  important  subject.  The  follow- 
ing is  Imperator' s  position: 

"You  ask  how  the  sign  of  the  Cross  can  be  pre- 
fixed to  such  teaching.  Friend,  the  spiritual  truth 
of  which  that  sign  is  typical  is  the  very  cardinal 
truth  which  it  is  our  special  mission  to  declare. 
The  self  denying  love  which  would  benefit  human- 
ity even  at  the  sacrifice  of  life  and  home  and 
earthly  happiness — the  pure  spirit  of  the  Christ — 
this  is  what  we  would  declare  to  you  as  the  God- 
like spirit.  This  is  the  true  salvation  from  mean- 
ness and  self-aggrandizement,  and  self-pleasing 
and  luxurious  sloth,  which  can  'redeem'  humanity 
and  make  of  men  the  children  of  God.  This  self- 
abnegation  and  incarnate  love  is  that  which  can 
*  atone 't  for  sin,  and  make  man  like  to  God.  This 
is  the  true  Atonement !  not,  indeed,  a  reconciliation 
of  sin-stained  humanity  to  an  angry  and  holy  God, 
purchased  by  the  sacrifice  of  His  sinless  Son,  but 
a  higher  and  truer  atonement  in  the  ennobling  of 
the  nature,  the  purifying  of  the  spirit ;  the  making 
of  the  human  and  the  divine,  ONE  in  aim  and 
purpose — the  drawing  of  man's  spirit,  even  whilst 
incarned,  up  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Divine. 

"This  was  the  mission  of  the  Christ.  In  this 
He  was  a  manifestation  of  God,  the  Son  of  God, 
the  Saviour  of  man,  the  Reconciler ;  the  *  At-one-r ' ; 


•Spirit  Teachings,  p.   70.    ^Imperator  here   uses  the  word   iu 
its  original  sense  of  '  *  reconcile. 


)  J 


150         DOCTEINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

and  herein  we  perpetuate  His  work,  we  carry  on 
His  mission,  we  work  under  His  symbol,  we  fight 
against  the  enemies  of  His  faith,  against  all  who 
ignorantly  or  wilfully  dishonor  Him,  even  though 
it  be  under  the  banner  of  orthodoxy  and  under  the 
protection  of  His  name. 

"Much  that  we  teach  must  still  be  new  and 
strange  even  to  those  who  have  progressed  in 
knowledge;  but  the  days  shall  come  when  men 
shall  recognize  the  oneness  of  Christ's  teaching  on 
earth  with  ours ;  and  the  human  garb,  gross  and 
material,  in  which  it  has  been  shrouded,  shall  be 
rent  asunder,  and  men  shall  see  the  true  grandeur 
of  the  life  and  teaching  of  Him  whom  they  ignor- 
antly worship.  In  those  days  they  shall  worship 
with  no  less  reality,  but  with  a  more  perfect  knoAvl- 
edge;  and  they  shall  know  that  the  sign  under 
which  we  speak  is  the  symbol  of  purity  and  self- 
sacrificing  love  to  them  and  to  their  brethren  for 
all  time.  This  end  is  our  earnest  endeavor  to 
attain.  Judge  of  our  mission  by  this  standard, 
and  it  is  God,  god  like ;  noble  as  He  is  noble ;  pure 
as  He  is  pure ;  truthgiving  as  He  is  true ;  elevating 
and  saving,  and  purifying  the  spirit  from  the 
grossness  of  earthly  conceptions  and  raising  it  to 
the  very  atmosphere  and  neighborhood  of  the 
spiritual  and  the  divine.  Ponder  our  words :  and 
seek  for  guidance,  if  not  through  us,  then  through 
Him  who  sent  us  even  as  in  earlier  days  He  sent 
that  exalted  spirit  of  purity,  charity  and  self- 
sacrifice,  whom  men  called  Jesus,  and  who  was  the 
Christ. 


DOCTEINE  OF  ATONEMENT         151 

**Hiin   we   adore   even   now.    His   name   we 

reverence, 
His  words  we  echo.  His  teaching  lives  igain 

in  ours. 
E»  and  we  are  of  God:  and  in  His  name  we 


come.'' 


►!*Imperator.* 


I  will  show  later  how  this  teaching  is  strictly  in 
accordance  with  the  New  Testament,  when  the 
origj^nal  Greek  words  are  correctly  interpreted.  I 
will  now  only  quote  one  text  to  show  that  St.  Paul 
agrees  perfectly  with  Iviperator  in  regarding  tho 
*' Atonement"  as  signifying  simplj^  "Reconcilia- 
tion" of  man  to  God:  "If,  while  we  were  enemies, 
v;e  were  reconciled  to  God,  through  the  death  of 
His  Son ;  much  more,  being  reconciled,  shall  we  be 
saved  by  His  life;  and  not  only  so,  but  we  also 
rejoice  in  God,  through  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
through  whom  we  have  now  received  the  recon- 
ciliation."   (R.V.)   (A.V.  Atonement,  i.e.,  atone-, 

ment.)t 

Mr.  Heslop  thus  expresses  himself  on  the  same 
subject :  "Try  and  keep  quite  clearly  in  your  mind 
what  Our  Lord's  atonement  really  was,  and  what 
it  was  not.  Tho  atonement  was  the  expression 
through  Christ  of  the  love  of  the  Father  even  unto 
death,  for  every  human  soul.  It  enables  us  to  draw 
nearer  to  the  Father  than  was  possible  before 

•Spirit  Teachings,  p.  70,  f.  j:Fom.,  5,  10  ff.  This  waa  the  only 
passaj^o  where  the  word  "AtoDcmcnt"  occurred  in  the  New 
TfRt.an-.ent.      (A.V.) 


152        DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

Christ  died.  But  this  is  a  great  mystery  which  you 
cannot  fully  understand.  By  assuming  the  human 
form,  Christ  gave  the  crowning  dignity  to  human- 
ity and  so  caused  an  at-one-ment  between  us  and 
God.  Now  that  this  at-one-ment  is  accomplished 
by  Christ,  the  Holy  Spirit  can  take  complete  pos- 
session of  the  heart,  and  by  filling  it  with  the 
Divine  Presence  gradually  purify  it  from  sin.  It 
was  to  bring  us  into  this  soul-union  that  Christ 
lived  and  died. 

'*It  is  the  doctrine  of  the  *  substitution'  of  Christ 
the  Sinless  One,  to  satisfy  the  laws  the  sinner  has 
broken,  that  has  done  so  much  evil.  It  has  lulled 
the  wicked  into  a  false  security.  The  first  thing 
they  fi.nd  when  they  come  here  is  the  record  of 
their  lives,  and  every  man  goes  to  the  place  he  has 
made  for  himself,  according  as  that  life  has  been. 
.  .  .  Absolute,  impartial  justice  is  meted  out  to 
every  man,  of  every  clime  and  every  race,  for  that 
justice  is  his  own  involuntary  creation.  However 
feeble  have  been  the  glimmerings  of  godness  and 
truth,  here  they  are  fostered  and  strengthened  till 
thy  burn  brightly  for  God.  The  ignorant  are  in- 
structed, the  weary  are  soothed,  and  the  broken- 
hearted are  comforted.  Gradually  those  who  at 
first  fled  from  the  purity  and  brightness  here,  are 
brought  in  by  the  all-embracing  love  of  God ;  and 
we  who  minister  to  these  lost  ones,  rejoice  on  the 
birth  of  a  soul  into  those  higher  regions  of  light 
and  progress." 

Such  is  the  At-one-ment ;  which  brings  about  not 


DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT        153 

only  the  Communion  of  Saints*  but  unity  with 
God  and  Christ,  whe^i  man  has  repented  of  his  sins. 

How  will  the  Christian  world  receive  this  inter- 
pretation? My  own  experience  is  as  follows:  I 
published  a  book  in  1884  entitled  Christian  Beliefs 
Reconsidered  in  the  Light  of  Modern  Thought, 
wherein  I  called  attention  to  the  meaning  of  the 
word  ''Atonement,"  namely  "Reconciliation"  or 
At-one-ment.  A  clerg>Tnan  for  whom  I  had  fre- 
quently preached,  said  I  should  ''never  enter  his 
pulpit  again."  A.  Canon  said  in  a  sermon  when  I 
was  present :  "If  I  did  not  believe  in ' substitution, ' 
I  would  never  preach  again  in  this  pulpit."  I 
wrote  an  article  on  the  subject  in  The  Pulpit,  and 
a  correspondent  wrote  to  say :  "  It  may  be  right, 
but  I  am  too  old  to  change  any  views."  Rev. 
Stainton  Moses  was  right  when  he  told  Imperator 
that  his  teaching  "would  not  be  accepted." 

Mrs.  Heslop  received  the  following  words  from 
one  who  had  read  what  her  husband  had  said: 
"If  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  did  not  die  as  my  sub» 
stitute,  then  /  am  for  ever  lost." 

Her  reply  to  the  friend,  she  tells  us,  was  inspired 
by  her  husband,  and  quotes  it  in  full. 

Slie  writes : ' '  My  former  view  was  that  the  only 
way  to  the  Father  lay  through  the  sacrificial  work 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  that  by  His  death  on  the  Cross  He 
paid  the  penalty  of  my  sins,  and  through  faith  in 
His  sacrifice  they  were  blotted  out  for  ever.  Christ 
liaving  suffered  in  my  stead,  I  was  set  free.  This 
is  the  doctrine  of  the  Atonement  as  preached  in 

•"Saint"  in  the  New  Testament  signifiea  any  Christian, 


154        DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

the  Christian  churches.  Now  it  has  been  told  me 
from  the  Christ-sphere  that  this  is  a  mistaken  view 
of  the  atoning  work  of  Jesus  Christ.  . .  The  great 
mission  of  Jesus  was  to  show  us  our  union  with  the 
Father,  whose  name  is  Love,  and  to  make  our  at- 
one-ment*  with  Him  a  realized  fact. '  'f 

Mrs.  Heslop  adds  the  following  to  her  hnsband's 
words  from  the  other  side :  **Much  of  John's  work 
is  to  welcome  souls  newly  passed  into  the  spirit- 
life.  He  tells  me  that  many  are  filled  mth  distress 
and  perplexity  when  they  are  confronted  by  the 
sins  of  their  past  lives ;  they  had  thought  all  had 
been  obliterated  by  their  faith  in  the  atoning  sacri- 
fice of  Jesus  Christ,  and  he  begs  me  to  try  and 
throw  light  on  this  doctrine. 

"I  know  there  are  many  texts  in  the  Bible  which 
Leem  to  confirm  the  evangelical  view;  but  I  am 
told  that  they  allude  to  the  ultimate  cleansing  after 
repentance  and  restitution,  such  completing  our 
reconciliation  to  God,  and  not  to  the  total  oblitera- 
tion of  a  special  sin  by  an  act  of  faith." 

**It  is  right  to  dwell  on  the  forgiveness  of  Go-l 
to  the  contrite  sinner,  for  this  is  a  glorious  truth  : 
but  it  is  the  consquences  of  sin  that  will  confroiit 
us  when  the  veil  of  the  flesh  no  longer  hides  them 
from  our  sight.  But  if  they  have  been  faced  and 
the  debt  paid  whilst  on  earth,  our  sins  can  no  long- 
er confront  us  in  the  Spirit-world,  but  are  in  very 
deed  *cast  into  the  depths  of  the  sea'  for  ever."t 

*i.e.,  **At-one-ment"  the  only  meaning  in  the  TBth  century. 
fOp.  cit.,  p.  155.  XSpcaJcing  across  the  Border-line:  Appendix 
on  The  Meaning  of  Atonement.  A  Bay  of  Light  on  a  diffimlt 
Doctrine,  by  F.  Heslop,  pp.  150  ff  . 


DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT        155 

The  question  now  arises,  how  has  the  Bible  been 
misread  so  that  many  persons  come  to  believe  in 
the  so-called  Atonement  or  the  "Substitution  by 
Christ"  instead  of  man  suffering  for  his  sins? 

If  we  go  back  to  the  beginning  of  things,  we  find 
the  original  meaning  of  sacrifice  was  to  please  and 
appease  the  deities,  for  all  sorts  of  troubles  and 
afflictions  were  thought  to  be  due  to  them,  as  pun- 
ishments for  unknown  crimes  as  well  as  known  de- 
linquencies. Thus  we  read  after  the  flood  Noah 
offered  a  sacrifice  of  sweet  savour  and  Yahveh  is 
said  to  have  promised  that  for  the  future  such  a 
flood  should  not  occur  again.  But  this  same  story 
is  found  on  the  ancient  Babylonian  tablets ;  but  in 
them  it  is  polytheistic,  and  not  monotheistic  as 
represented  in  Genesis. 

Similarly  after  the  matter  of  Korah,  Moses 
stayed  the  plague,  called  the  ''Wrath"  of  Yahveh, 
by  offering  sweet-scented  incense. 

We  know  that  the  idea  of  diseases,  etc.,  were 
looked  upon  as  inflicted  by  God,  down  to  the  time 
of  Christ;  for  the  Jews  asked:  "Who  sinned,  the 
man  born  blind  or  his  father?"  to  account  for  it. 
Like  Job  of  old,  who  protested  against  his  friends 
arguing  that  he  must  have  sinned  to  be  so  troubled, 
our  Lord  denounces  the  theory  altogether.  Eze- 
kicl  had  long  before  strongly  condemned  the  idea 
that  any  man  should  be  held  responsible  for  his 
son's  misdemeanors  or  vice  versa.  Everyone  must 
stand  or  fall  in  accordance  with  his  own  doings,  for 
which  he  alone  is  responsible.  It  is  obvious,  there- 


156        DOCTEINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

fore,  that  this  righteous  law  is  violated  if  Christ 
died,  as  a  man,  instead  of  sinners  having  to  bear 
their  natural  consequences. 

If  we  turn  to  the  original  Greek  text  of  the  New 
Testament,  we  find  that  it  is  never  said  that  Our 
Lord  died  '* instead  of"  (in  Greek,  anti)  but  al- 
ways "on  behalf  of"  (in  Greek,  huper)  man;  or 
''in  the  matter  of"  (peri)  our  sins.  He  died  as 
all  the  subsequent  martyrs  did,  for  His  Great 
Cause — the  Salvation  of  Man  from  his  sins;  but 
how  is  this  to  be  done  ?  All  through  the  Old  Testa- 
ment as  also  in  the  New,  forgiveness  of  sins  in- 
variably follows  immediately  on  sincere  repent- 
ance. Let  us  take  an  example  from  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. The  prophet  Nathan  reproves  David  for  his 
sins  of  murder  and  taking  Bathsheba.  David's 
conscience  is  awakened  and  he  cries:  **0,  God, 
against  Thee  only  have  I  sinned. ' '  Nathan  at  once 
says:  ''The  Lord  hath  put  away  thy  sin." 

The  publican  in  the  temple  prayed:  ''God,  be 
merciful  to  me  a  sinner,"  and  he  left  the  temple 
"justified."  This  word  obviously  means  here 
"forgiven" ;  while  the  self-righteous  Pharisee  was 
not.  David,  the  publican,  the  woman  who  bathed 
our  Lord's  feet  with  her  tears,  Zacchaeus  the 
exorbitant  publican,  and  the  thief  on  the  cross 
were  all  similarly  "justified";  because  Christ 
could  read  their  hearts  and  knew  that  their  re- 
pentance was  sincere. 

All  sinners,  or  as  St.  Paul  calls  them,  "aliens" 
or  "enemies,"  are  "at  two"  with  God;  but  He 


DOCTEINE  OF  ATONEMENT        157 

would  reconcile  them  unto  Himself,  and  so  be  *'at 
one, ' '  i.e.,  in ' ' union ' '  with  Himself.  The  only  way 
by  which  it  can  be  affected  is  by  the  sinner's  own 
repentance  and  then  living  the  Christ-life.  God 
has  endowed  man  ^vitli  a  free  ivill.  It  is  that  which 
makes  a  man  responsible  for  his  ov/n  conduct. 

The  doctrine  of  the  Atonement  leaves  the  man 
himself  too  much,  if  not  altogether,  out  of  the  New 
Covenant.  It  gives  hun  a  false  sense  of  security 
if  he  looks  to  Christ's  death  as  a  "substitution" 
for  the  effects  of  his  own  sins  in  this  world.  He 
\\all  have  a  rude  awakening  on  the  other  side :  "  As 
a  man  sows,  so  shall  he  reap."  God's  laws  are 
immutable  and  perfectly  just;  because  whatever  a 
man  does  consciously,  whether  good  or  bad,  he 
regulates  his  oivn  consequences  upon  himself.  As 
stated,  there  will  be  no  Judge  hereafter ;  as  Christ 
said:  "All  Judgment  is  in  the  Son,"*  but  the  Son 
declines  to  judge,  for  He  "came  not  to  judge  but 
to  save."!  His  "Word"|  is  the  judge,  and  that 
means  His  teaching;  and  if  we  choose  to  pay  no 
heed,  knowingly  going  astray,  our  own  conscience 
will  judge,  when  it  is  too  late  to  amend  our  way 
in  this  life. 

As  many  people  still  pin  their  faith  upon  Christ 
as  being  a  "substitute,"  it  is  perhaps  desirable  to 
add  a  few  more  w^ords  to  expose  the  error. 

The  late  Mr.  A.  S.  Lamb  wrote  a  little  book 
called  Unbelief,  the  World's  Greatest  Sin,^  in 
which  he  discusses  this  false  theory  of  salvation 

*John,  5,  22.    ^John,  8,  15.     tJohn,  12,  48.     §tbe  last  edition 
completed  1,125,000  copies.  Drummond's  Tract  Depot,  Stirling). 


158        DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

as  if  it  were  true.  He  says:  ''Justification  means 
notliing  short  of  this.  It  is  far  more  than  bare 
pardon.  It  is  a  making  for  all  judicious  purposes, 
before  the  heavenly  tribunal,  the  unjust,  just.'' 

But  how  was  this  to  be  effected?  *'To  create  a 
righteousness  which  could  be  imputed  was  the 
prime  object,  so  far  as  we  sinners  are  concerned, 
of  Our  Lord  and  Saviour's  incarnation,  His  life  of 
obedience,  and  His  atoning  death."  ...  *'It  is  in- 
deed true  that  for  those  who  have,  by  God,  through 
the  Holy  Spirit,  been  led  to  lay  their  sins  on  Jesus, 
and  to  put  their  trust  for  justification  in  God's 
sight  solely  in  the  great  work  completed  on  Cal- 
vary, the  eternal  punishment  of  sin  has  been  act- 
ually and  fully  borne." 

This  is  all  totally  unscriptural  and  false ! 

*'To  lay  our  sins  on  Jesus,"  like  the  sentence, 
''He  bore  our  iniquities,"  are  simply  metaphorical 
expresions  based  on  the  account  of  the  scape-goat, 
when  Moses  laid  his  hands  upon  it,  and  sent  it 
adrift  into  the  desert.  What  on  the  other  hand  the 
whole  Bible  teaches  is  that  sins  are  only  forgiven 
on  repentance.  Yet  Mr.  Lamb  asserts:  "Repent- 
ance of  itself  is  no  ground  for  reconciliation!" 

If  that  were  true,  why  did  Our  Lord  say  that 
the  publican  in  the  temple — after  praying  for  for- 
giveness— went  away  "justified."  To  justify  and 
justification  are  legal  terms  making  a  man,  as  we 
say,  "not  guilty."  It  is  a  purely  negative  position. 
To  he  just  requires  a  man  to  have  do7ie  positive 
acts  of  justice,  such  as  Zacchaeus  promised  to  do ; 
thereby  proving  that  his  repentance  was  sincere. 


DOCTEINE  OF  ATONEMENT        159 

It  is  Ms  own  conduct  alone  that  can  make  a  man 
*'just"  or  "righteous.'* 

''As  a  sinner  is  'justified'  from  all  things," 
writes  Mr.  Lamb,  "through  the  obedience,  suffer- 
ing and  death  of  Christ  as  his  substitute,  and  so 
delivered  from  the  guilt  and  punishment  due  to  his 
sins"  .  .  .  "To  create  a  righteousness  which  can 
be  imputed  was  the  prime  object  of  our  Lord  and 
Saviour's  incarnation.  It  was  to  work  out  the 
complete  available  satisfaction  of  the  demands  of 
eternal  truth  and  justice  that  His  obedience,  suf- 
fering and  death,  as  our  substitute  were  indis- 
pensably necessary." 

This  process  is  said  to  appease  God  and  propi- 
tiate His  wrath.  But  God  is  Love  and  requires 
nothing  of  the  sort,  only  man's  repentance,  then 
*'He  reconciles  the  sinner  unto  Himself." 

All  the  words  italicized  in  Mr.  Lamb's  account 
have  erroneous  meanings;  for  example: 

Believe:  There  was  no  special  word  in  Greek 
before  Christ  came,  for  "to  have  faith  in";  so  the 
common  word  for  "believe"*  had  to  be  taken  over. 
The  two  meanings  are  well  distinguished  by  St. 
James.  He  says:  "AVhat  doth  it  profit,  if  a  man 
say  he  hath  faith  {pistis),  but  have  not  works?" 
Will  faith  alone,  i.e.,  mere  "belief,"  save  him? 
And  he  gives  an  illustration  which  the  reader  can 
refer  to.  In  the  19th  verse  he  uses  the  verb 
(pisteuo)  in  the  old  sense  of  "believe":  "Thou 
belie  vest  that  God  is  one  God:  Thou  doest  well: 

•ITiiB  comes  from  tho  Latin  credo,  which  stand  for  the  Greek 
pisteuo. 


160        DOCTEINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

The  devils  also  believe,  but  shudder.**  No  one 
would  impute  to  them  any  faith  in  Jesus  Christ. 

Consequently  it  is  not  *' belief"  or  ''unbelief" 
that  Mr.  Lamb  is  writing  about ;  for,  belief  is  solely 
concerned  with  reason  or  "head-knowledge"; 
whereas  faith,  not  only  includes  this,  but  must 
prove  itself  by  "heart-practice.** 

Moreover,  no  man's  goodness  or  badness  can  be 
"imputed"  to  another  person;  for  Mr.  Lamb  uses 
the  word  as  if  it  meant  "imparted,**  as  he  speaks 
of  Christ's  righteousness  as  a  "gift**  to  us.  The 
word  "impute"  can  only  mean  "laying  to  one's 
charge, ' '  and  in  the  case  of  a  good  man,  regarding 
him  as  righteous.  In  either  case  the  good  or  bad 
man  must  be  proved  by  his  works;  as  is  done  in  a 
law  court. 

Moreover,  Ezekiel,  long  before,  declared  as  a 
fundamental  law  of  God,  that  no  one  could  be 
punished  for  the  iniquities  of  another,  nor  be 
righteous  instead  of  another  person.  The  idea  of 
"substitution"  is  in  defianc3  of  God*s  word. 

St.  Paul  gives  a  very  different  explanation  to 
that  of  Mr.  Lamb :  "God  was  in  Christ  reconciling 
the  world  unto  Himself  and  not  reckoning  their 
trespasses  unto  them.**  Such  reconciliation  was  on 
one  presupposed  condition — that  the  world  had 
repented.  It  is  a  self-acting  law.  Forgiveness 
follows  in  the  wake  of  sincere  repentance,  and  is 
proved  by  the  sinner  "turning  away  from  his 
wickedness  and  doing  that  which  is  lawful  and 
right" — and  above  all  showing  an  enthusiasm  in 


j)r\nv 


OCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT        161 


doing  good  to  others — then  **he  shall  save  his  soul 
alive. '^ 

Salvation  is  nothing  more  or  less  than  living  the 
Christ  life  to  the  best  of  our  ability  on  this  earth. 
The  Greek  Y\'ord  soteria  was  well  translated  in  the 
Latin  Vulgate  by  salus,  i.e.,  spiritual  "health"; 
and  the  word  was  used  till  the  twelfth  century, 
Yvhen  it  began  to  be  replaced  by  *' salvation. "  It 
has  been  retained,  however,  in  the  General  Con- 
fession: "We  have  no  health  in  us,"  and  in  the 
Baptismal  Service.  Christ  came  to  save  us  from 
our  sins,  not  from  Gehenna;  that  is  left  for  the 
sinner  himself  to  do,  by  acquiring  salvation,  by 
working  it  out,  tliough  in  fear  and  trembling.  As 
the  Kingdom  of  Heaven  is  within  us,  so  may  Hell 
be. 

The  danger  lurking  in  this  theory,  therefore, 
docs  not  seem  to  be  noticed  by  Mr.  Lamb.  He  says : 
"Christ  is  the  end  of  the  law"  because  He  has 
satisfied  the  law,  through  His  work  finished  on 
Calvary.  He  has  brought  in  a  righteousness  which 
is  now  avaliahle  for  us,  as  a  ground  of  justification, 
without  a  personal  keeping  of  the  law." 

But  if  the  reader  will  carefully  study  Bom.  10, 
he  will  see  that  St.  Paul  is  contrasting  the  Old  Law 
witli  the  New  Covenant ;  so  that  when  Christ  came 
to  establish  the  latter  He  put  an  end  to  the  old 
Scholastic  system.  The  "righteousness  of  the 
Law"  was  obedience  enforced  or  encouraged  by 
temporal  punishments  or  rewards,  respectively. 
He  abolished  this  and  substituted  "Faith,"  that 


162        DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

is  a  law  written  on  the  fleshy  table  of  the  heart  and 
not  on  tables  of  stone,  and  the  man  is  free  to  obey 
his  own  conscience  and  no  longer  a  task-master. 
Mr.  Lamb  quite  fails  to  realize  this. 

"Redemption" — this  and  other  expressions, 
such  as  "ransomed,"  "bought  with  a  price,"  etc., 
are  all  metaphors  taken  from  the  Old  Testament. 
No  payment  of  any  kind  was  made  to  anyone ;  but 
we  still  use  the  phrase  if  a  man  "rescues"  another 
from  fire,  but  gets  burnt,  we  say  that  he  paid  a 
heavy  price  for  his  noble  action;  so  when  "God 
redeemed  Israel  from  Pharoah"  the  word  only 
meant ' '  rescued. ' '  No  price  was  paid  to  the  King 
of  Egypt. 

St.  Paul  even  uses  the  word  translated  "re- 
demption" as  a  synonjan  for  another  for  "for- 
giveness," both  words  in  Greek,  as  stated  is  the 
riddance  of  sin.* 

With  regard  to  the  word  "Atonement,"  which 
now  means  "making  amends  for,"  it  had  only  one 
in  the  16th  century,  viz.,  to  put  "at  one,"  i.e., 
" at-one-ment. "  It  is  frequent  in  Shakespeare's 
plays:  thus  Desdemona  says:  "I  would  that  I 
could  atone  them,"  meaning  make  the  Moor  and 
Cassio  friends  again,  or  "at  one."  This  sense  of 
"making  amends"  or  "expiation"  is  traceable  to 
the  Vulgatet;  then  to  Archbishop  Anselm's  book. 
Cur  Deus  Homo?  {i.e.,  Why  did  God  become 
man?)t  and  finally  to  Calvin'^ ;  hence  his  followers 

"EiJh.,  1,  7.  fFourth  Century.  ^Twelfth  Century.  §Sixteenth 
Century.  The  false  meaning  "became  general  in  books  on  re- 
ligion about  1650. 


DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT         163 

who  accept  this  erroneous  teaching  of  Salvation 
are  called  Calvinists. 

If  we  search  through  the  writings  of  the  Apos- 
tolic Fathers  of  the  first  and  following  centuries 
we  find  no  support  for  the  theory  of  Substitution. 
They  deal  solely  with  Repentance  and  living  a  holy 
life  as  the  essentials  of  a  Christian,  such  as  St. 
Clement,  in  the  first  and  second  century,  calls  ' '  the 
Glorious  and  Venerable  Rules  of  our  Holy  Calling. 
Let  us  consider  what  is  Good  and  Acceptable,  and 
well  pleasing  in  the  sight  of  Him  that  made  Us. 
Let  us  look  steadfastly  to  the  Blood  of  Christ,  and 
see  how  Precious  His  Blood  is  in  the  sight  of  God : 
which  being  shed  for  our  salvation  has  obtained 
the  Grace  of  Repentance  for  all  the  World  .  .  . 
to  all  such  as  would  turn  to  him,  Noali  preached 
Repentance.  Jonah  denounced  Destruction  against 
the  Ninivites.  However,  they  repented  of  their 
Sins,  and  appeased*  God  by  their  Prayers  and 
were  saved,  though  they  were  strangers  to  the 
Covenant  of  God. '  't 

*' Hence  we  find  how  all  the  ministers  of  the 
Grace  of  God  have  spoken  by  the  Holy  Spirit  of 
Repentance.  And  even  the  Lord  of  all  has  Himself 
declared  with  an  oath  concerning  it:  "As  I  live,*' 
saith  the  Lord,  '*I  desire  not  the  death  of  a  sinner, 
but  that  he  should  repent."  He  refers  also  to 
similar  utterings  of  the  Prophets.  He  continues  by 
showing  how  our  regeneration  to  holiness  is  the 
outcome  of  repentance." 

*Ez.,  33,  11.  Jcr.,  3,  4,  19.  Is.,  1,  16.  f 'Appeased"  is  not 
a  very  happy  word;  "pleaaoJ"  is  nearer  the  truth. 


164         DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

St,  Clement  Imows  nothing  of  Clirist  having 
been  crucified  as  our  ' '  Substitute. ' '  He  died  at  the 
end  of  the  First  Century,  similarl^r  is  it  v/ith  all 
the  ablest  of  the  Apostolic  Fathers. 

What,  then,  does  Our  Lord's  death  upon  the 
cross  teach  us  1  It  is  the  great  end  and  object  of  all 
His  teaching,  i.e.,  His  **  Word" — to  lay  down  one's 
life  if  called  upon  to  do  so,  on  beJialf  of  others. 

Self-sacrifice  is  the  great  law  of  Love,  in  Greek 
Agape,  which  means  an  enthusiasm  for  doing 
good  to,  and  for,  others. 

What  is  St.  James'  definition  of  the  Christian 
Religion? 

"Pure  Religion  and  undefiled  before  God  our 
Father  is  this :  To  visit  the  fatherless  and  widows 
in  their  affliction;  and  to  keep  himself  unspotted 
from  the  world. ' '  Such  again  is  Agape  or  ' '  Love. ' ' 

Our  Lord  does  not  turn  to  those  whom  He  com- 
pared to  the  goats  and  say,  in  the  words  of  Mr. 
Lamb:  "Believe  on  Me"  because  I  have  done 
"obedience,"  borne  "suffering  and  death"  as 
your  "substitute,"  and  so  "delivered  you  from 
the  guilt  and  eternal  punishment  due  to  your 
sins";  and  that  I  can  "impute  my  righteousness" 
to  you;  which  you  can  "accept  as  a  satisfaction 
for  your  sin" ;  since  "I  have  fulfilled  and  satisfied 
God's  Law,"  etc. 

On  the  other  hand.  Our  Lord's  own  words  were : 
"Depart  from  me,  ye  cursed,  into  eternal  fire, 
which  is  prepared  for  the  devil  and  hi^s  angels." 
The  reader  can  study  this  conclusion  for-himself. 

If  the  reader  has  read  the  former  part  of  this 


DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT        165 

parable  of  the  Judgment,  he  will  see  what  happens 
to  the  "justified  "who  had  7nade  themselves  righte- 
ous by  living  and  doing  what  Christ  did.  They  "go 
into  eternal  life."  Such  is  the  whole  teaching  of 
Jesus  Christ,  sunnned  up  in  the  two  words  "Faith" 
and  "Love,"  or  an  Enthusiasm  for  doing  good  to 
others.  This  is  the  result  of  reconciliation  to  God, 
metaphorically  expressed  by  eating  His  flesh,  that 
is,  acquiring  His  character,  and  by  drinking  His 
blood,  tliat  is,  living  His  life  on  earth,  and  so  in 
every  way  imitating  His  conduct.  "Imitation"  is 
what  is  meant  by  "Union"  with  Him  and  the 
Father. 

Let  us  once  more  turn  to  our  greatest  Expositor 
of  the  meanings  of  words  in  St.  John's  Epistles. 
Dr.  "Westcott  thus  writes  in  his  notes:  "Man's 
estrangement  from  God  by  sin  can  be  regarded  in 
two  ways.  Sin  cannot  but  be  a  bar  to  God's  love; 
and,  conversely,  man  as  sinful  cannot  love  God. 
He  requiros  a  change  in  condition,  and  a  change  in 
feeling."*  Propitiation  [i.e.,  Christ  offers  Himself 
to  the  sinner]  and  Reconcilement  [of  the  sinner  to 
God].  . .  The  Love  of  God  [is  seen]  in  the  mission 
of  His  Son  which  calls  out  man's  love,  as  St.  John 
says:  "Herein  is  love,  not  that  we  loved  God,  but 
that  He  loved  us,  and  sent  His  Son  to  be  a  pro- 
pitiation [i.e.,  to  propitiate  man] :  for  He  is  ''our 
propitiation."  He  propitiates  the  sinner  by  offer- 
ing up  Himself,  i.e.,  His  flesh  and  blood  for  the 
sinner  to  eat  and  drink,  "t 

•The    Qrork    worrl    translated    Ropontance     rrnlly     meana     a 
"change  of  mind"  or  of  "  undei  standing, "   -j-Sco  I  John,  4,  10. 


166        DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

Dr.  Westcott  sliows  that  both  in  the  Oreek 
Septuagint  version  of  the  old  Hebrew  Testament, 
as  well  as  in  the  New  Testament,  the  verb  hilasJces- 
thai  (to  *' propitiate")  stands  in  remarkable  con- 
trast with  the  classical  usage  .  .  .  The  Scriptural 
conception  is  not  that  of  appeasing  [i.e.,  ''pro- 
pitiating"] one  who  is  angry  against  the  offender, 
but  of  altering  the  character  of  that  which  occas- 
ions alientation  [such  of  course  being  the  sins  of 
man].  Such  phrases  as  ''propitiating"  God  or 
God  being  reconciled  to  man  are  foreign  to  the 
language  of  the  New  Testament.  Man  is  recon- 
ciled to  God.*  There  is  a  propitiation  of  the  sinner. 
The  Love  of  God  is  the  same  throughout.**! 

As  an  illustration  of  the  cluster  of  verbal  errors 
involved  in  the  popular  misunderstanding  of  the 
so-called  "Atonement,"  I  will  refer  to  an  event  in 
the  year  1858.  In  that  year  there  was  what  was 
called  a  "Revival,"  which  spread  more  or  less  all 
over  England.  At  all  events  it  reached  Suffolk, 
where  I  happened  to  know  a  certain  curate  of  a 
country  parish  who  was  strongly  infected  by  it. 
A  description  of  his  method  of  impressing  "Salva- 
tion" upon  the  villagers  was  as  follows — Taking 
his  text:  ''Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  and 
thou  shalt  be  saved.' 'X  His  address  might  be 
capitulated  somewhat  as  follows :  Christ  voluntar- 
ily submitted  to  be  crucified  on  the  Cross,  i.e.,  in  a 
vicarious  manner,  as  a  substitute  in  your  stead,  in 
order  that — if  you  will  only  &e?iet;e  the  words  of  the 

*n  Cor.,  5,  18.    'Rom.,  5,  10.    fWesteott,  "Notes  on  The  Epistles 
cf  St.  John,  p.  87.    t^cts,  16,  30  ff. 


DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT         167 

text  to  be  true,  you  will  be  saved  from  Hell;  be- 
cause by  His  death  He  propitiated  and  ap- 
peased the  Father's  wrath,  and  satisfied  His  jus- 
tice; i.e.,  by  His  bearing  the  penalty  due,  not 
only  for  your  sins,  but  for  the  sins  of  the  ivhole 
world.'' 

Were  the  theory  true,  one  would  expect  to  find 
some  reference  to  it  in  Our  Lord's  Parables;  but 
there  is  not  a  trace.  The  late  Eev.  Prof.  B.  Jowett 
thus  writes:  "The  Parables  have  a  natural  and 
ethical  character,  reading  them  simply  and  natur- 
ally we  find  in  them  no  indication  of  the  doctrine 
of  atonement  or  satisfaction.  There  is  no  hint 
contained  in  them  of  that  view  of  the  death  of 
Christ  which  is  sometimes  regarded  as  the  center 
of  the  Gospel.  There  is  no  difficulty  "in  the  na- 
ture of  things,"  which  prevents  the  father  going 
out  to  meet  the  prodigal  son  (nor  the  Father  for- 
giving a  repentant  sinner).  No  other  condition 
is  required  of  the  justification  of  the  publican  ex- 
cept the  true  sense  of  his  own  umvorthiness.  The 
power  of  Son  of  the  Man  to  forgive  sins  is  not 
dependent  on  the  satisfaction  which  He  is  to  offer 
for  them. 

One  can  understand  the  meaning  of  Our  Lord's 
self-sacrifice  better  if  we  contrast  it  with  those 
under  the  Old  Covenant.  This  was,  so  to  say,  ex- 
ternal; whereas  the  New  Covenant  is  internal; 
the  one  written  on  tables  of  stone,  the  other  on  the 
fleshy  table  of  the  heart.  The  sacrifices  of  old  were 
irresponsible  animals  compelled  to  die  as  symbols 


168        DOCTKINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

under  the  idea  of  obeying  the  outward  Laws  of 
Yahweh  under  the  aspect  of  propitiatory  offer- 
ings to  appease  Him. 

Christ  offers  Himself  as  our  propitiation,  as  He 
is  our  righteousness,  i.e.,  a  voluntary  self-sacrifice 
on  behalf  of  the  Great  Cause — the  Salvation  of 
the  world.  He  offers  Himself  His  flesh  and  blood 
— as  a  propitiation  to  man  to  come  to  eat  and 
drink  and  be  ''at  one"  with  Him  and  so  save  him- 
self. The  flesh  of  the  victim  in  olden  times  was 
eaten  by  the  people ;  but  the  blood  was  sprinkled 
upon  them,  i.e.,  externally;  but  Christ's  flesh  and 
blood  are  (metaphorically)  taken  internally. 

The  spiritual  meaning  is  that  flesh  stands  for 
Character  and  blood  for  Life. 

As  Yahveh  pleaded  with  His  chosen  people, 
thus,  for  example,  God  says:  *'They  who  handle 
the  law  knew  Me  not :  the  rulers  who  transgressed 
against  Me.  .  .  Wherefore  I  will  yet  plead  with 
you  saith  the  Lord."  So,  too,  Christ  pleads  from 
His  Cross,  for  He  would  draw  the  whole  world 
nigh  to  Him.  Though  in  Heaven  He  still  pleads 
to  man  on  earth  against  His  opponent.  Sin.  His 
one  offering  once  made  is  a  perpetual  propitia- 
tion to  all  the  world  for  all  time  to  come  to  His 
cross  and  be  saved. 

As  God  pleaded  iwith  the  Israelites,  so  does 
Christ  plead  from  the  cross  for  all  to  *'draw 
night"  to  Him  and  He  continues  to  plead  in  the 
presence  of  God. 

To  plead  is  not  to  ask  for  forgiveness,  but  a 
metaphorical  expression  for  ''arguing  a  case  with 


DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMEInT 


an  opponent"  and  Christ's  opponent  is 
His  once  offering  of  Himself  was  an  historicai 
event  which  can  never  cease  to  have  occurred.  Tlic 
Cross  can  go  on  pleading  for  ever.  Hence  the 
Covenant  is  completed  and  drawn  out  at  length  by 
the  writer  to  the  Hebrews  who  uses  phrases  only 
strictly  applicable  to  the  old  sacrifices,  but  are 
metaphorically  applied  to  Clirist;  and  he  con- 
cludes— using  Isaiah's  expression:  *'So  Christ, 
having  once  offered  to  bear  the  sins  of  man," 
meaning  that  He  suffered  not  ''instead  of"  but 
on  behalf  of  man  to  induce  him  to  repent,  and  so 
free  himself  from  sins  for  ever. 

In  one  point  the  comparison  cannot  be  made. 
To  repent  of  his  sins  is  not  mentioned  in  the 
Pentateuch  as  a  conmiand  for  each  individual 
among  the  Israelites.  He  w^as,  so  to  say,  lost  in 
the  nation.  But  now  Christ's  death  appeals  to 
every  one  of  us  individually. 

The  fundamental  error  v/ill  now  be  clearly  seen 
to  be  that  the  idea  that  Christ  died  instead  of  us 
h  taken  from  the  Old  Testament  victims.  Where- 
as the  responsibility  now  rests  upon  each  indi- 
vidual man,  who  is  answerable  to  his  o^^^l  con- 
science— a  word  unknowni  to  the  Old  Testament; 
though  it  occurs  frequently  in  St.  Paul's  Epistles. 

That  Our  Lord  spoke  metaphorically  is  obvious 
when  we  turn  to  the  Gospel  and  read  what  He  said 
to  the  Jews:  ''Except  ye  eat  the  flesh  of  the  Son 
of  Man  and  drink  His  ])lood,  ye  have  no  life  in 
you."     The    Jews    ridiculed    the    idea,    asking: 


170        DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

*'How  can  this  man  give  us  his  flesh  to  eat!"  In 
reply  to  His  disciples,  Our  Lord  said:  *'It  is  the 
Spirit  that  quickeneth,  the  flesh  profiteth  noth- 
ing. The  Words  that  I  speak  unto  you,  they  are 
spirit  and  they  are  life."— ''He  that  hath  faith  in 
Me,  hath  everlasting  life." 

Consequently,  if  His  flesh  symbolizes  His 
Words,  the  bread  when  eaten  symbolizes  them 
too ;  but  His  words  mean  His  teaching,  and  there- 
fore to  act  up  to  His  teaching  is  to  prove  our 
faith  in  His  Words.  Such  produces  our  Char- 
acter, and  St.  Paul  uses  * 'flesh"  in  indicate  it. 

Now  the  Church  has  read  into  the  ivords  "flesh 
and  blood"  what  we  may  call  "actuality,"  just  as 
the  Jews  did,  in  that  they  are  supposed  to  carry 
Our  Lord's  actual  Spirit  when  applied  to  the 
bread  and  wine.  So  His  Spirit  is  thought  to  be 
conveyed  to  the  recipients  of  the  Communion,  and 
the  consequence  to  be  eternal  life. 

Such  is  Mysticism,  of  which  there  is  not  a  trace 
in  either  the  Epistles  of  St.  Paul  or  of  other  writ- 
ers in  the  New  Testament. 

As  I  have  been  discussing  the  view  held  in  the 
Spirit- World  with  regard  to  the  Atonement,  I 
will  here  add  what  they  have  to  say  about  the 
sacrament  of  the  Lord's  Supper;  such,  according 
to  the  Prayer  of  Consecration  in  our  Prayer- 
Book,  is  closely  connected  with  the  Atonement; 
with  details  of  which  this  prayer  commences. 

Our  own  "domestic"  spirits,  as  I  call  them, 
replied  to  my  question:  "How  do  you  regard  the 


DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT         171 

Lord's  Supper  in  your  world?"  The  reply  came 
at  once:  "We  do  not  think  anything  about  it." 

I  asked  Dr.  Hooper,  the  well-kno^\^l  Medium,  to 
whom  I  am  greatly  indebted — as  the  reader  of  my 
Proofs  of  the  Spirit  Forces  mil  know —  to  en- 
quire of  the  Spirit  *'Ajax,"  well  known  in  his 
earth  life  as  a  celebrated  preacher  in  Chicago. 
Ajax  sent  me  a  long  reply,  which  was  taken  down 
in  shorthand.  I  counted,  roughly,  1,150  words  in 
the  transcript.  It  dealt  mth  other  kindred  mat- 
ters besides  the  Sacrament. 

With  reference  to  the  service,  AJax  was  brief, 
but  he  quite  agrees  with  the  previous  communi- 
cation. He  is  very  insistent  upon  the  uselessness 
of  all  the  ritual  associated  with  it,  more  espe- 
cially in  the  Roman  Church. 

The  following  is  the  portion  which  refers  to  my 
special  question:  "We  have  no  such  ceremony  or 
anything  analogous  to  it  in  the  Spirit- World. " 
"The  ceremony  of  the  Last  Supper"  was  simply 
Christ's  method  of  impressing  upon  the  minds  of 
the  disciples  the  fact  that  He  was  leaving  them, 
to  fix  it  upon  their  minds,  that  this  was  the  last 
occasion  when  He  would  be  with  them.  He  wishes 
it  to  be  passed  on  from  generation  to  generation, 
that  He  should  never  be  forgotten." 

Ajax,  then,  adds  what  others  have  said,  that  the 
motive  for  partaking  of  the  bread  and  wine  lies  in 
the  symbol  of  union  amongst  all  His  followers,  and 
he  compares  it  with  (e.g.)  "Tlie  Red  Indians,  with 
whom  there  is  tlie  custom  of  mingling  of  blood  by 
the  opening  of  an  artery  in  the  left  arm.  The  blood 


172        DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

is  mingled  between  the  two  and  thus  brotherhood 
is  established  to  the  end  of  all  time." 

As  a  fact,  the  ''cult"  called  Totemism  of  sav- 
ages, is  now  recognized  as  recorded  in  the  Old 
Testament,  representing  the  degradation  from 
tlie  religion  of  Jehovah.* 

Ajax  suggests  that  Our  Lord  would  have  had  in 
His  mind  some  such  custom  as  that  of  eating  bread 
and  salt  together,  to  indicate  the  Fellowship  or 
Unity,  whicliHe  wished  to  establish  in  His  Church. 

St.  Paul  certainly  saw  it  in  this  light,  for  he 
asks — evidently  expecting  the  Corinthians  to  at 
once  agree  with  him — *'Is  not  the  bread  [loaf]  a 
fellowship  of  Christ's  body?  Is  not  the  wine  a 
fellowship  of  Christ's  blood?" 

The  late  Sir  John  Seeley  well  expresses  this  in 
his  well-known  work,  Ecce  Homo:  *' Christ  did 
not  regard  it  as  possible  to  unite  men  to  each 
other,  but  by  first  uniting  them  to  Himself.  And 
in  the  Lord's  Supper,  in  which  the  union  of  Chris- 
tians is  symbolized,  it  is  represented  as  depend- 
ing, not  merely  on  the  natural  passion  of  human- 
ity implanted  in  their  breasts,  nor  merely  on  the 
command  of  Christ  calling  that  passion  into  ac- 
tivity, but  upon  a  certain  intimate  personal  con- 
tact between  Christ  and  His  followers.  The  union 
of  mankind,  but  a  union  begun  and  subsisting 
only  in  Christ,  is  what  the  Lord's  Supper  sacra- 
mentally  expresses. "J 

*See  a  paper  by  Dr.  H.  L.  D.  Astly  in  The  Interpreter,  vol.  15, 
p.  90  (1919)  entitled: — Survivals  of  Primitive  Cults  in  the  Old 
Testament.  Other  works  are  therein  referred  to  bearing  on  this 
subject.     jfEccc  Homo  (small  ed.  1903),  ehap.  XV.,  p.  196  f. 


DOCTEINE  OF  ATONEMENT        173 


i(\ 


The  ceremony,"  continues  Ajax,  "is  pure 
ritual,  as  it  is  known  and  practiced  to-day.  "We 
claim  no  adherence  to  it  whatever.  Christ  was 
trying  to  impress  upon  His  disciples  that  He  had 
chosen  them,  that  He  wished  them  to  carry  on 
with  the  work;  and  He  received  them  into  true 
Brotherhood,  that  they  should  not  forget  Him,  as 
He  was  a  part  of  them  and  they  a  part  of  Himself. ' 

With  regard  to  the  ceremonial  accessories,  es- 
pecially in  the  Eoman  Church,  Ajax  adds : 

*'Man  will  worship  that  w^hich  he  does  not  un- 
derstand. He  has  worshipped  and  gone  Sunday 
after  Sunday  to  partake  of  the  Holy  Communion, 
which  he  does  not  understand.  It  is  simply  a 
Mystery  created  by  the  Churches,  and  those  who 
were  interested  in  the  subjection  of  mankind." 

A  little  analysis  of  the  metaphorical  meanings 
of  Our  Lord's  words  may  make  the  above  clear. 
The  Bread  (Loaf)  represents  the  disciples,  i.e., 
the  Church,  while  each  portion  eaten  is  an  indi- 
vidual communicant,  and  also  stands  for  Christ's 
Character  to  be  acquired. 

The  Wine  represents  His  Blood,  i.e..  His  Life. 
The  New  Covenant  is  kept  by  living  the  Christ- 
life.  So  no  one  is  a  perfect  Christian  who  does 
not  try  his  utmost  to  live  the  Christ-life. 

It  was  the  last  occasion  when  Christ  would  eat 
the  Passover  and  close  the  Old  Covenant.  It  was 
a  type  of  the  *'end  of  tlie  Law,"  and  also  of  the 
beginning  of  the  New.  So,  He  added,  '*I  will  no 
more  drink  of  the  fruit  of  the  vine,  until  that  day 
when  I  drink  it  new  in  the  Kingdom  of  Heaven. ' ' 


174        DOCTEINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

In  saying  this  He  seems  to  contrast  the  life  un- 
der the  Old  Covenant  with  that  under  the  New 
Covenant,  i.e.,  the  Law  is  now  in  the  heart,  and 
not  on  tables  of  stone.  Ajax  continues: 

**  During  this  Wliitsun  week  [1919],  just  think 
of  the  Churches  ancl  Cathedrals,  and  everything 
that  appertains  thereto,  of  the  different  vestments 
that  will  be  worn,  the  various  ceremonies  that  will 
be  performed.  Does  the  priest  make  himself  a 
mimic  of  the  stage,  or  is  he  a  true  man,amemberof 
the  Brotherhood,  of  the  Fatherhood  of  God,  and  of 
Eighteousness,both  in  Soul  and  Spirit  upon  earth? 

''These  latter  are  the  things  which  we  ask  you 
on  earth  to  look  well  at.  Think  not  of  the  ritual, 
think  of  the  'natural  life.'  You  can  do  very  well 
without  the  'unnatural'  things  of  ritual.  Look 
at  the  natural  man  and  woman.  Look  at  them 
that  are  starving,  the  fatherless  and  motherless, 
at  the  halt  and  the  blind.  Worship,  but  help 
humanity,  and  think  not  of  ceremonies  that  are 
performed  by  the  clergy  to  strike  fear  into  the 
hearts  of  humanity." 

It  will  be  noticed  that  Ajax  uses  the  word 
"Mystery."  It  also  occurs  in  our  Communion 
Service.  Wliat  does  it  mean,  and  how  can  the 
term  be  applied  to  this  or  other  sacraments? 

The  mystical  interpretation  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per arose  about  the  2nd  or  3rd  century,  when  the 
"theologists"  of  the  day  could  not  distinguish 
between  a  metaphor  and  a  supposed  reality.  Thus, 
when  Christ  said:  "This  is  My  body,"  and  "This 
cup  is  the  New  Covenant  in  My   blood,"    they 


DOCTEINE  OF  ATONEMENT         175 

thought  He  meant  that  Ee  Himself  was  in  the 
bread  and  in  the  wine,  in  some  miraculously  in- 
fused way,  so  that  by  our  eating  and  drinking, 
the  bread  and  wine  could  nourish  our  body  and 
soul  spiritually,  and  so  "preserve  us  unto  ever- 
lasting life,"  as  stated  by  the  priest  to  each  com- 
mmiicant  in  our  service.  Ajax  continues: 

**Let  us  look  at  what  the  Atonement  means. 
The  man  in  the  street  seems  to  think  that  some- 
one, the  gentle  Nazarene,  laid  doMTi  His  life  and 
paid  the  penalty  for  all  sins  before  He  came  into 
the  world  and  since.  We  from  the  spirit  side  of 
life  say  that  it  is  not  true.  No  one  has  been  enabled 
to  pay  the  debt  of  your  personal  responsibility, 
and  if  a  man  connnits  a  crime  or  a  sin  and  thinks 
that  at  some  future  date  he  can  gain  forgiveness 
by  laying  his  sin  or  his  crime  upon  the  shoulders 
of  an  innocent  individual,  then  his  crime  is 
doubled. 

"We  have  watched  the  death-beds  of  many 
thousands  of  individuals  as  they  have  passed  over 
to  this  side  of  life  from  the  child  in  the  cradle  to 
the  old  man  that  is  decrepit — the  man  that  dies  of 
senile  decay,  the  man  that  has  lived  through  the 
whole  gamut  of  human  suffering,  of  human  happi- 
ness and  Imman  turmoil.  We  have  seen  and  we 
know. 

"If  we  examine  closely  into  the  subject  we  find 
the  Atonement  is  held  by  him  or  her  that  blindly 
believes.  But  we  say  that  faith  without  works  is  of 
no  avail  in  the  Spirit  World.   If  a  man  believes 


176         DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

that  he  will  be  enabled  to  gain  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  after  living  a  life  here  of  sordid  crime  by 
a  death-bed  repentance,  then  we  say  that  it  is  not 
true,  for  he  must  'work  out  his  own  salvation'  in 
the  Spirit  World.  Those  whom  he  has  wronged, 
those  to  whom  he  has  brought  suffering  and  tears, 
must  be  approached  and  forgiveness  obtained 
from  them  before  he  is  enabled  to  climb  the  Lad- 
der of  Progress  in  the  Spirit  Eealms.  We  would 
rather  take  the  word  as' At-one-ment.'  With  what? 
With  the  ideal  state,  the  ideal  life,  what  the  gentle 
Nazarene  of  old  described  *to  be  your  brother's 
keeper,'  'to  do  unto  others  as  you  would  be  done 
by,'  to  be  honest,  to  be  just,  to  be  at  one  with  God, 
or  to  be  at  one  with  your  conscience,  which  is  the 
same  thing.  Some  peoples'  consciences  are  made 
of  elastic,  it  stretches  very  much  indeed.  AVhat 
is  wrong  to  one  is  right  to  another.  It  is  according 
to  the  cranial  development  of  the  individual,  there- 
fore there  can  be  no  one  law  whereby  all  humanity 
can  be  judged.  As  I  have  explained  to  you  in  days 
gone  by,  if  a  child  is  totally  devoid  of  melody  or 
harmony  or  the  organ  of  sound,  then  it  is  almost 
impossible  to  teach  that  child  music.  If  a  child  is 
devoid  of  the  organ  of  color  and  like  organs  in  the 
brain,  which  would  enable  him  to  limn  upon  canvas 
beautiful  pictures,  it  is  almost  a  total  failure  to 
strive  to  teach  that  child  to  paint  or  to  draw.  You 
would  not  punish  him  because  he  could  not  draw 
or  play  music,  for  the  simple  reason  that  child  is 
devoid  of  the  sense  and  of  the  organs  of  the  ma- 
terial body  that  would  enable  him  to  draw  or  paint 


DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT        177 

or  to  plaj^  beautiful  music.  It  is  the  same  with  a 
man  or  woman  who  has  a  flat-topped  head.  You 
will  find  that  the  German  people  were  at  one  time 
called  'flat-heads'  for  the  simple  reason  that  they 
have  no  moral  propensities.  They  have  been 
brought  up  in  materialism  to  look  upon  Force  and 
the  Sword  as  all-powerful.  If  a  man  or  woman  is 
deficient  in  the  moral  organs,  undoubtedly  they 
will  go  astray,  according  to  the  light  of  the  other 
people  upon  earth  who  are  endowed  or  gifted 
with  moral  propensities. 

''Another  individual  has  the  spiritual  propen- 
sities largely  developed,  they  love  their  Church  or 
their  Chapel,  they  revel  in  such  things,  whilst  he 
who  has  a  flat-topped  head  and  whose  reasoning 
faculties  are  largely  developed,  cannot  believe  be- 
cause his  reason  mil  not  allow  him.  He  cannot 
sense  things  that  are  spiritual,  of  the  spiritual 
world,  and  those  vibrations  that  are  for  ever  vi- 
brating around  him.  He  knows  nothing  of  them, 
he  can  only  deal  with  material  matters.  He  has 
nothing  of  the  spiritual  within  his  composition. 

"What  of  the  Atonement  for  that  individual? 
The  man  tliat  cannot  believe,  that  cannot  follow 
the  traditions  that  others  have  followed:  That 
by  some  magical  process  he  will  be  saved  and  be 
made  into  an  angel  in  the  Spirit  World?  We  know 
of  no  such  process  by  which  poor  frail  humanity 
can  be  made  into  angels  or  archangels.  Each  one 
of  you  is  a  man  or  woman  witli  the  feelings  of  men 
and  women,  with  tlie  attributes  of  goodness,  of 
courage,  of  moral  vision.   Each  man  and  woman 


178        DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

is  simply  made  up  of  just  a  little  good  and  just  a 
little  evil,  and  we  believe  and  fully  hope  and  trust 
that  the  good  is  in  tlie  ascendency.  The  cry  of  the 
widow  and  orphans  means  nothing  to  the  man  who 
has  hoarded  wealth  and  who  has  gained  it,  never 
mind  how.  He  didn't  care  as  long  as  the  wealth 
was  his,  so  long  as  his  bank  account  was  swelled : 
while  that  man  lived,  it  mattered  nothing  to  him 
if  the  Atonement  were  true.  On  his  death-bed  he 
would  have  to  give  everything  up  and  it  would  not 
be  fair  for  him  to  be  able  to  enter  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  without  paying  the  penalty  of  the  wrongs 
he  had  done  or  left  undone.  That  man  was  never 
spiritually  at  one  with  himself  and  could  not  be  at 
one  with  God,  at  one  with  the  spiritual  world,  or 
with  his  own  conscience.  He  had  to  live  a  life  of 
feverish  activity  for  the  simple  reason  he  must 
forget.  He  dare  not  dwell  on  that  which  is  within 
his  heart. 

''There  is  no  efficacy  in  the  Atonement.  Man 
builds  his  life  here  moment  by  moment,  hour  by 
hour,  day  by  day.  Man  must  of  necessity  work 
out  his  own  salvation  here.  He  has  committed 
some  crime  and  he  is  punished  and  his  conscience 
is  purged  of  the  crime.  Then  he  will  not  suffer  in 
the  Spiritual  Realms  if  he  has  gained  full  pardon 
from  those  individuals  that  he  had  wronged  whilst 
upon  Earth. 

*'Let  us  examine  life  as  it  is  presented  to  us. 
During  the  first  seven  years  of  childhood,  the  child 
spends  quite  half  of  its  time  in  sleep,  and  it  is  al- 
most impossible,  or  the  child  is  incapable,  of  com- 


DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT        179 

mitting  any  crime.  The  next  seven  years  the  child 
is  learning  day  by  day.  He  may  do  wrong,  little 
things,  that  do  not  attain  to  any  immensity.  You 
must  understand  this,  that  the  growing  child  is 
suffering  from  hereditary  tendencies  and  the  en- 
vironment in  which  he  is  placed.  There  are  the 
sins  of  the  fathers  and  the  mothers.  The  child 
has  taken  after  a  vicious  father  or  a  vicious 
mother.  He  may  be  the  victim  of  hereditary 
tendencies  and  environment  and  it  is  impossible 
for  him  to  live  a  clean,  righteous  and  pure  life. 
In  the  next  decade,  development  is  taking  place 
more  rapidly.  Manhood  or  womanhood  begins  to 
spring  forth.  Again  at  least  a  third  of  the  time  is 
spent  in  sleep  so  that  there  is  not  much  time  for 
the  youth  or  the  maiden  to  commit  crime.  Then 
perchance  at  the  next  decade,  marriage  takes 
place,  home-ties  are  there  for  them  either  to  make 
or  to  mar.  Possibly  the  young  man  and  the  maiden 
are  full  of  the  responsibilities  of  the  upbringing 
of  children  and  attending  to  the  career  and 
worries  of  domestic  life  and  even  then  a  third  of 
the  time  is  spent  in  sleep.  We  go  right  through 
until  a  man  or  woman  attains  the  sixtieth  year, 
when  thought  becomes  more  apparent  to  the  indi- 
vidual. They  begin  to  think  and  to  delve  and  to 
look  back  and  realize,  to  be  sorry  for  the  wrongs 
that  they  have  committed.  They  begin  re-living 
their  lives  once  again,  purging  themselves  of  their 
sins  and  then  step  by  step,  day  by  day,  tottering 
onwards  to  the  grave.  Poor  Humanity  is  beset 
with  frailties.    Poor  Humanity  was  born  not  a 


180        DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT 

perfect  Being,  but  with  environments  and  condi- 
tions and  vibrations  around  them  that  only  a 
saint  could  live  through  and  not  be  smirched 
with  sin. 

''But  what  is  Sin  and  what  is  right  and  what  is 
wrong?  What  to  one  is  wrong,  is  right  to  another. 
No  two  individuals  hold  the  same  ideal  regarding 
right  and  wrong.  They  are  the  victims  of  circum- 
stances, of  the  hereditary  tendencies,  of  the  en- 
vironment in  which  they  lived  in  their  younger 
days.   Then  Death  claims  them. 

"People  who  have  been  members  of  some  church 
or  chapel,  possibly  of  the  Salvation  Army,  may  be 
narrow-minded,  they  may  be  Brothers  in  Christ, 
or  belonging  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  and  they 
may  fully  believe  that  no  one  except  themselves 
will  be  saved ;  although  they  may  have  committed 
sins,  they  are  righteous  in  their  own  estimation, 
but  are  they  more  righteous  than  the  others  of 
God's  children?  They  find  that  when  they  pass  or 
emerge  into  the  Spirit  World,  that  the  Atonement 
avails  them  nothing,  that  it  has  been  just  a  blind 
belief.  But  if  their  conception  of  the  Atonement 
has  been  lived  up  to,  if  it  has  enabled  them  to  live 
a  better  and  nobler  life,  better  men  and  women, 
mothers  and  fathers,  and  better  citizens,  then  it 
has  helped  them  through  this  Mother  Earth. 

"But  if  it  has  only  been  a  belief,  if  they  have 
committed  crimes  or  wrongs,  or  if  they  have 
robbed  their  fellow  men  and  women,  in  the  belief 
that  at  some  future  day  they  will  be  able  to  obtain 


DOCTRINE  OF  ATONEMENT        181 

forgiveness  and  be  saved,  then  indeed  they  are 
mistaken.  When  they  emerge  into  the  Spirit 
World,  and  they  stand  alone  and  recall  the  whole 
of  their  past  lives,  they  become  as  it  were  counsel 
for  the  prosecution  and  for  the  defense,  and 
judge  and  jury  combined,  and  they  see  everything 
as  it  is.  This  is  what  Christ  meant  when  He  said 
that  every  deed  was  entered  in  the  Book  of  Life, 
in  the  Book  of  Judgment.  That  is  your  conscience, 
your  memory,  that  has  lived  and  will  live  again 
in  the  Spiritual  world.  There  you  will  be  happy 
or  unhapp5%  contented  or  discontented,  and  you 
will  be  drafted  to  that  place  or  that  sphere  in  the 
Spirit  World  that  you  are  most  fitted  to  live  in, 
according  to  your  life  and  according  to  your  do- 
ings here  upon  Earth,"  [Ajax.] 


CHAPTER  XII 

THE  FATE  OF  THE  SUICIDE— A  TERRIBLE 

WARNING 

Cheiro  saves  a  would-be  suicide. — Mr.  Leon  Denia'  description 
received  from  the  other  side.— Imperator's  homily  on  the  suicide 
of  a  friend  of  Rev.  Stainton  Moses.— The  suicide  of  three  College 
Tutors  known  to  the  present  writer, — The  record  of  B.  Peruzzi 
di  Medici. — Swedenborg's  experiences. — The  female  suicide  who 
controlled  Olwen,  the  Welsh  medium. — Vice  Admiral  W.  Usborn 
Moore's  information  on  the  subject.— Chinese  belief  of  the  fate 

of    suicides. — Jessie    Adelaide's    story The    Salvation    Army's 

Anti-suicide  Bureau  and  its  work. 

Cheiro,  in  his  Memoirs,  devotes  a  chapter  to  "A 
Spiritualistic  Seance  and  its  Sequel."  He  tells  of 
a  gentleman,  aged  about  60,  who  had  wanted  for 
close  on  twenty  years  to  marry  the  one  woman  he 
had  ever  cared  for.  He  was  a  doctor,  a  splendid 
noble-hearted  man,  but  a  rank  Materialist.  After 
the  death  of  the  lady's  husband  he  married  her; 
but  in  ten  days  she  died.  ''There  are  no  words 
to  describe  the  state  of  grief  into  which  this  man 
was  plunged ;  he  had  no  religion  to  go  to  for  con- 
solation, he  had  no  God  to  plead  with  that  they 
might  meet  again — nothing,  nothing  but  the  most 
absolute  despair."  He  soon  contemplated 
suicide. 

182 


FATE  OF  THE  SUICIDE  183 

Cheiro  happened  to  pass,  mtli  him,  the  house  of 
a  friend  who  was  a  medium. ' '  I  said  to  the  doctor- 
Come  with  me  for  a  moment,  we  are  passing  the 
house  of  a  man  who  I  knew  to  be  an  honest 
medium,  and  thinlv  how^  happy  you  would  be  if  you 
could  get  even  the  slightest  courage  from  Anna. '  * 

"The  medium  was  soon  entranced — then  fol- 
lowed a  seance  I  shall  never  forget.  In  less  than 
five  minutes  the  doctor  was  holding  a  clear  and 
distinct  conversation  with  his  wife.  There  was  no 
mistaking  her  voice.  The  medium's  face  even  be- 
came like  hers,  for  she  had  a  peculiar  droop  in  the 
left  side  of  the  upper  lip,  and  this  was  the  first 
thing  my  friend  noticed.* 

"Clearly  and  distinctly  she  told  him  that  he 
must  not  commit  suicide,  for  she  said:  'You  will 
retard  our  meeting  still  more.'  His  life  was  to  be 
used  in  work  for  others,  she  pleaded,  until  the 
moment  came  when  death  would  release  him 
naturally. 

"I  will  only  add  that  if  Spiritualism  never  did 
more,  it  had  at  least  brought  peace  to  one  man's 
heart,  and  during  the  two  years  he  labored  after- 
wards, many  hundreds  of  human  beings  received 
the  benefit." 

M.  Leon  Denis  says  in  his  work:  Here  and 
Hereafter,  containing  the  record  of  Spirit-com- 
munications : — "The  fate  of  the  self-destroyer  has 
much  in  common  with  that  of  the  criminal ;  some- 

*I  have  myself  observed  the  same  fact;  when  different  con- 
trols come,  the  face  of  the  meiliuin  assumes  appearances  totally 
unlike  his  own  characteristics  accordingly. 


184  FATE  OF  THE  SUICIDE 

times  it  is  even  worse.  To  commit  suicide  is  a 
cowardly  act,  a  crime  of  which  the  consequences 
are  terrible.  To  borrow  the  expression  of  a  spirit, 
he  who  commits  suicide  evades  suffering  only  to 
encounter  torture.  Each  of  us  has  duties  and  a 
mission  to  fulfil  on  earth ;  trials  to  endure  for  our 
own  good  and  improvement.  To  seek  to  evade 
these  and  to  liberate  -ourselves  before  our  time 
from  human  sufferings  is  to  violate  natural  law; 
and  every  violation  of  natural  law  brings  down 
a  terrible  reaction  upon  the  violater.  Suicide  is 
not  a  way  out  of  physical  suffering.  The  spirit 
remains  bound  to  the  carnal  body  which  it  thought 
to  destroy ;  slowly  it  suffers  from  every  phase  of 
decomposition,  and  its  painful  sensations  are  mul- 
tiplied rather  than  diminished." 

A  friend  of  Rev.  Stainton  Moses  had  commit- 
ted suicide,  about  whom  Imperator  has  much  to 
say.  The  following  is  part  of  his  discourse.  '*We 
would  speak  Avith  you  of  your  friend.  How  should 
he  be  blest?  He  lifted  sacriligious  hands  against 
the  shrine  in  which  the  All- Wise  had  placed  his 
spirit  for  its  progress  and  development.  He 
wasted  opportunities  and  destroyed,  so  far  as  he 
was  able,  the  temple  in  which  dwelt  the  Divine 
spark,  which  was  his  portion.  He  sent  forth  his 
spirit  alone  and  friendless  into  a  strange  world 
where  no  place  was  yet  prepared  for  it.  He  im- 
piously flew  in  the  face  of  the  Great  Father.  How 
should  he  be  blest?  Impious,  disobedient,  wilful  in 
his  death,  heedless,  idle,  selfish  in  his  life,  and  yet 
more  selfish  in  bringing  pain  and  sorrow  on  his 


FATE  OF  THE  SUICIDE  185 

earthly  friends  by  his  untimely  death — ^how 
should  he  find  rest?  Miserable,  blind  and  unde- 
veloped, there  is  no  rest  for  such  as  he,  till  re- 
pentance  has  Jiad  its  place  and  remorse  leads  to 
regeneration. 

''It  is  not  necessary  to  go  through  in  detail 
the  story  of  that  wasted  life.  Its  spirit  was  eaten 
out  with  cruel  selfishness,  and  its  end  was  destruc- 
tion of  self-consciousness. 

"That  spirit  which  neglects  to  use  its  powers, 
which  acts  not,  but  morbidly  dwells  on  fancied 
ills  or  suffering,  assuredly  breeds  in  itself  disease. 
The  law  of  existence  is  work — for  God,  for 
brethren,  for  self;  not  for  one  alone,  but  for  all. 
Transgress  that  law  and  evil  must  come.  The 
stagnant  life  becomes  corrupt  .  .  . 

"When  the  cord  of  earth  life  was  severed,  the 
spirit  found  itself  in  darkness  and  distress.  For 
long  it  was  unable  to  sever  itself  from  the  body.  It 
hovered  round  it,  even  after  the  grave  had  closed 
over  the  shrine  which  it  had  violated.  It  found 
no  rest,  no  welcome  in  the  world  to  which  it  had 
come  unbidden.  Darkness  surrounded  it,  and 
through  the  gloom  dimly  flitted  the  forms  of  con- 
genial spirits  who  had  made  shipwrecks  of  them- 
selves, and  were  in  unrestful  isolation. 

"It  was  not  till  the  first  shudder  of  awakening 
conscience  attracted  the  ministering  spirits,  that 
any  tiling  could  be  done  to  palliate  the  misery,  not 
yet  half  felt  or  acknowledged,  or  to  minister  heal- 
mg  to  the  soul.  When  it  stirred  amid  the  dark- 
ness, the  ministers    drew    near    and    strove    to 


186  FATE  OF  THE  SUICIDE 

quicken  the  seared  conscience  and  to  awaken  re- 
morse. For  long  after  their  efforts  availed  little, 
hut  by  degrees  they  succeeded  in  awakening  some 
measure  of  consciousness  of  sin,  and  the  spirit  be- 
gan to  grope  blindly  for  some  means  of  escape 
from  a  state  which  had  become  loathsome  to  it. 
Frequent  relapses  dragged  it  back  .  .  . 

*'The  hope  for  the  spirit  is  that  it  may  be 
nerved  to  occupy  itself  with  some  beneficent  work 
and  so  to  work  out  its  own  salvation.  To  this  end 
it  must  journey  on  through  remorse  and  uncon- 
genial labor ;  for  by  no  other  means  can  it  be  puri- 
fied. Selfishness  must  be  eradicated  by  self-sacri- 
fice. Idleness  must  be  rooted  out  by  laborious  toil. 
The  spirit  must  be  purified  by  suffering. 

' '  Such  help  as  the  ministers  can  give  will  not  be 
withholden.  It  is  their  glorious  mission  to  help 
on  the  aspiring,  and  to  cheer  the  fainting  soul. 
But,  though  they  may  comfort,  they  cannot  save 
one  pang,  nor  palliate  by  one  jot  the  penalty  of 
transgression.  No  vicarious  store  of  merit  can 
avail;  no  friend  may  bear  the  burden  or  lift  it 
from  the  weary  back.  It  must  be  borne  by  the 
soul  that  sinned,  though  helps  and  aids  be  given 
to  strengthen  and  support  the  failing  energies.'' 

In  the  case  of  three  friends  of  the  writer,  all 
tutors  of  colleges,  who  committed  suicide,  their 
life  was  different.  They  did  their  work  well,  were 
clever  men,  took  high  degrees  and  became  lec- 
turers and  teachers;  but  from  one  cause  or  an- 
other they  left  their  rooms  in  college  to  live  in  the 


FATE  OF  THE  SUICIDE  187 

country.  Their  occupation  had  gone.  It  appears 
to  have  been  this  Vv^hich  unhinged  their  minds. 
Nature  called  for  the  usual  mental  work;  which 
no  longer  existed.  The  "automatic"  part  of  the 
brain  ceased  to  work.  The  result,  suicide.*  "A 
natural  law  was  violated." 

Another  writer,  Miss  M.  C.  Pfloulkes  in  My  Own 
Past,  says:  "The  Ex-crown  Princess  of  Saxony 
told  me  at  a  "sitting"  with  Signor  Toselli  (the 
medium)  that  "the  earth-hound  spirit  of  her  ill- 
fated  lover,  B.  Peruzzi  de  Medici,  had  informed 
her  that  he  was  suffering  torments  of  punishment 
for  his  act  of  self-destruction,  as  his  spirit  was 
forced  to  remain  in  company  with  his  decaying 
body  and  to  witness  all  the  attendant  horrors  of 
corruption."^ 

Swedenborg  corroborates  this  result:  "The 
spirit  of  a  suicide  came  to  me  .  .  .  holding  a  knife 
in  his  hand,  as  though  he  would  plmige  it  into  his 
breast ;  but  with  which  he  strove  hard  as  if  wish- 
ing rather  to  cast  it  from  him,  but  in  vain.  For 
what  happens  in  the  hour  of  death  remains  a  long 
time  before  it  vanishes  away,  as  was  told  me."! 

In  Spirit  Psychometry^  will  be  found  the  ac- 
count of  a  female  (who  controlled  the  medium, 
Olwein) :  she  had  committed  suicide  three  or  four 

*A  parallel  from  animal  life  will  illustrate  this.  I  once  had 
a  linnet  in  a  nursery,  taught  to  draw  up  its  water  which  hung  iii 
a  little  bucket  outside  the  cage.  The  maid  somehow  broke  the 
string,  and  to  save  trouble,  put  the  bucket  inside  the  cage.  The 
linnet  refused  to  drink  out  of  it,  moped,  and  in  three  days  died. 
Previously  it  had  been  perfectly  well  and  singing  regularly. 
fOp.  cit.,  p.  274.  %!ii)iritual  Diary,  p.  33G-7;  On  Suicides.  ^Op. 
cit.,  p.  96. 


188  FATE  OF  THE  SUICIDE 

years  previously.  Mr.  Jaybee — who  took  down  in 
English  every  thing  this  Welshwoman  said  in  her 
trances  (for  she  could  not  speak  a  word  of  Eng- 
lish) observed:  *'she  fell  into  a  trance  and  was 
thrown  into  a  terrible  state  of  commotion,  wailing 
terribly  and  almost  screaming.  Then  would  fol- 
low some  gurgling  in  the  throat  which  appeared 
to  have  prevented  her  yelling.  At  this  juncture 
one  could  imagine  by  the  gurgling  noise  that  the 
breath  had  some  large  exit  other  than  through 
the  mouth  or  nostrils,  etc."* 

Mr.  Jaybee  was  not  aware  at  the  time  that  the 
woman  had  cut  her  own  throat.  This  fact  was 
subsequently  learned  from  Little  Dora,  the  black 
control,  who  supplied  details  which  were  all  sub- 
sequently verified. 

It  would  appear,  as  she  had  entered  and  con- 
trolled Olwen,  that  the  period  during  which  she 
would  have  been  presumably  remained  united  to 
her  own  body,  about  three  years,  had  by  no  means 
passed. 

Vice-Admiral  W.  Osborne  Moore  mentions  three 
cases  of  Suicides  in  Glimpses  of  the  Next  State: 
In  the  first  he  asks  the  question  of  a  control: 
*'What  is  the  spiritual  fate  of  the  suicide?"  The 
reply  was : '  *  Their  fate  must  be  worked  out  in  this 
phase  or  the  next.  Trouble  can  only  be  overcome 
by  endurance.  You  can  never  escape  the  Law  of 
Consequences  .  .  .  One  Soul  must  work  out  the 
evil  of  each  life  in  its  successive  phases."! 

The  next  reference  was  to  one  who  had  been  on 

^Spirit  Psychometry,  p.  86  (Eider).     -fOp.  cit.,  p.  145. 


FATE  OF  THE  SUICIDE  189 

the  same  ship  with  the  Admiral  himself  twenty 
years  previously  and  had  shot  himself  in  his  cabin, 
because  as  the  man  said:  '*I  was  impelled  to  do 
it."  (A  groan).  "Admiral,  she  would  not  marry 
me,  as  I  had  not  enough  money;  and  there  was 
a  richer  man  than  I  in  the  background."  (A 
groan). 

The  third  case  was  that  of  a  mother  who  had 
killed  herself  and  her  three  children. 

The  following  occurred  at  one  of  many  seances 
especially  organized  for  helping  those,  who  had 
just  passed  over  in  great  distress,  to  realize  their 
position.  The  Spirit's  agony  is  expressed  in  the 
first  word  she  uttered ; 

"What  have  I  done?  Oh,  my  God!  Oh,  look 
at  my  dear  ones!  Oh!  God!  Oh!  Why  did  I 
do  it!  Oh,  baby!  baby!  baby!  But  what  was  I 
to  do?  Oh!  I  Avish  I  had  begged;  but  oh!  the 
pride  of  my  heart.  It  was  so  hard  I  If  I  could  only 
rest — rest—-" 

Mr.  B:  "You  will  find  rest  soon,  and  find  your 
little  ones.  Your  little  ones  are  now  happy." 

Spirit:  "Oh!  Sir,  I  didn't  want  to  do  it.  J  did 
it  because  I  loved  them  so !  I  loved  them  so !  Oh ! 
you  all  feel  that  I  am  bad." 

Mr.  B :  Oh  no,  we  feel  sorry  for  you.  We  feel 
you  made  a  mistake,  but  you  didn't  do  it  inten- 
tionally. You  were  partially  out  of  your  mind 
tlirough  trouble." 

Spirit:  "Oh,  I  was  most  crazy,  I  could  not  see 
them  starve,"  etc. 


190  FATE  OF  THE  SUICIDE 

I  quote  this  fragment  to  give  tlie  reader  an  idea 
of  how  much  sympathy  can  be  given  to  such  poor 
souls. 

A  view  somewhat  parallel  to  the  above  state- 
ment is  held  by  the  Chinese.  The  authoress  of  a 
work  entitled  Two  Years  in  the  Forbidden  City 
writes:  "It  is  believed  by  the  Chinese  that  when 
a  person  commits  suicide  their  spirit  remains  in 
the  neighborhood  until  such  time  as  they  can  en- 
tice somebody  else  to  commite  suicide ;  when  they 
are  free  to  go  to  another  world,  and  not  before. ' ' 

It  will  not  be  out  of  place  to  quote  a  confession 
of  a  would-be  suicide  from  one  of  the  Salvation 
Army's  books  entitled  The  Salvation  Army  Officer 
at  Work.  The  chapter  has  this  interesting  Head- 
ing: 


THE  SALVATION  ARMY  OFFICER 

AS 

LIFE-REPAIRER. 

LiFE-EEPAIEING   DoNE   HeRE. 

Broken   Life-springs   Adjusted.    Vanished 
Hope  Recovered.       Shattered  Faith  Re- 
built.  Lost  Ideals  Restored. 


The  Anti-Suicide  Bureau  has  saved  thousands 
of  intentional  suicides;  an  account  of  some  of 
which  are  given.  The  "patients"  were  promised: 


FATE  OF  THE  SUICIDE  191 

(1) — Inviolable  secrecy;  (2) — Consultation  and 
advice  free;  (3) — No  guaranteed  financial  help. 

One  case — that  of  Rudolf  Schultz,  he  permitted 
liis  name  to  be  published.  "He  had  been  a  gradu- 
ated pharmacist;  so  that  he  was  always  able  to 
get  morphine  by  writing  a  prescription  and  pre- 
senting it  at  a  drug  store.  He  had  sunk  very  low, 
and  tried  to  conmiit  suicide.  A  letter  from  him 
in  an  American  paper  tells  the  rest." 

*'To  The  Star.  Seeing  a  few  lines  in  jotit  last 
evening's  edition  concerning  a  man  named  R. 
Schultz,  who  tried  to  connnit  suicide  by  taking  63 
grains  of  morphine  and  failed,  I  wish  to  state,  I 
am  the  person.  For  years  I  have  been  addicted  to 
the  worst  curse  that  humanity  has  ever  knoAVii — 
i.e.,  the  morphine  and  cocaine  habit. 

*'In  my  despair  I  went  to  the  Salvation  Army 

Anti-Suicide  Bureau,  and  told  Colonel my 

troubles,  and  ah !  what  a  great-hearted  friend  this 
gentleman  is ! 

*'We  went  do"WTi  on  our  knees  and  prayed;  he 
encouraged  me  and  uplifted  me.  I  was  filthy  and 
ragged.  He  cleaned  me  personally,  clothed  me, 
supplied  me  with  a  room  in  their  Headquarters, 
gave  me  good  and  substantial  food  and  called  a 
doctor  who  is  attending  me  twice  daily.  Oh !  how 
much  he  has  done  and  is  still  doing  for  me!  I 
was  an  outcast — a  homeless,  friendless  stranger 
— and  he  uplifted  me  from  the  verge  of  death,  and 
gave  me  new  life  and  hope.  More  than  a  dozen 
times  a  day  he  conies  up  to  my  room  and  encour- 


192  FATE  OF  THE  SUICIDE 

ages  me,  and  gives  me  little  tokens  of  kindness  . . . 
* '  Next  week  I  am  going  to  the  Fresh- Air  Camp ; 
and  it  is  my  greatest  desire  that  the  public  shall 
know  what  these  Salvation  Army  people  are  do- 
ing for  the  poor  and  unfortunate. 
Yours  respectfully, 

EUDOLF  SCHULTZ." 


CHAPTER  XIII 

A    FUTURE    ANNIHILATION    POSSIBLE, 
BUT  SELF-A\^OUGHT 

Mr.  Emmet's  interpretation  of  "Destruction." — Spiritualism 
supports  the  view  of  a  possible  annihilation. — The  Greek  word 
olethros  and  others  imply  "total  destruction." — Preb.  C.  A. 
Eow,  on  this  meaning,  as  contrary  to  the  ideas  of  '  *  everlasting 
torment." — Texts  in  support  of  the  truth  that  it  depends  upon 
man 's  free-will. — Dr.  Gore  also  writes  on  annihilation  with  no 
everlasting  torment. — Dr.  Streeter's  description  of  the  future, 
quite  confirmed  by  the  Spirits,  in  allusion  to  the  joys  of  a  future 
life,  of  which  the  determinately  wicked  deprive  themselves  for 
ever. — Dr.  Alford's  interpretation  of  the  "Second  Dath. " 

The  Rev.  C.  W.  Enimet,  B.D.,  comes  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  alternative  result  to  everlasting 
punishment  is  a  natural  process  of  annihilation  of 
the  soul  with  an  incorrigible,  wdlful  persistence  in 
evil.  His  words  are : ' '  There  might  be  a  difference 
of  opinion  as  to  the  existence  of  any  who  could  be 
regarded  as  irremediably  bad;  but  it  would  be 
agreed,  that  if  there  were  such,  some  form  of  an- 
nihilation was  the  only  end  which  could  be  con- 
ceived for  them."* 

He  also  refers  to  /  Thess.,  5,  3,  and  //  Thess., 
1.6,  if.,  and  observes:  *' These  passages  suggest 
annihilation  rather  than  indefinite  torment." 

•Essay  on  The  Bible  and  Hell  in  Immortality,  p.  171.  (Mac- 
millan). 

193 


194  FUTURE  ANNIHILATION  POSSIBLE 

On  the  other  hand:  "So  long  as  there  is  the 
faintest  spark  of  the  divine  life  in  the  soul,  there 
remains  the  possibility  of  better  things,  and  the 
love  of  God  has  something  on  which  to  work.  We 
dare  not  abandon  the  hope  of  progress  and  for- 
giveness after  death  for  such  a  soul.  Only  where 
the  Spirit  is  definitely  quenched  will  the  soul  cease 
to  be."* 

Mr.  Emmett  adds  in  a  note:  "This  is  not  quite 
the  doctrine  of  'conditional  immortality.'  That 
says  the  Soul  is  not  immortal  till  it  has  won 
eternal  life ;  this  says  it  is  innnortal  till  it  has  for- 
feited its  boon,  by  an  extreme  of  wilful  sin.  More 
and  more  we  see  that  it  is  goodness  which  is  essen- 
tially immortal  and  there  is  no  serious  philoso- 
phical difficulty  in  believing  in  the  dissolution  of 
the  completely  bad  personality." 

This  view  is  thoroughly  in  keeping  with  the  ex- 
perienced truths  of  Spiritualism.  The  very  fact 
that  good  and  bad  spirits  can  and  do  communicate 
with  us,  as  well  as  our  own  relations,  and  familiar 
friends,  is  a  practical  proof  of  immortalityf ;  while 
the  deduction  of  annihilation  by  *  self -caused  spiri- 
tual atrophy'  or  something  akin  to  it,  is  a  natural 
assum^ption  by  analogy  as  well  as  being  in  accord- 
ance with  direct  information  on  the  subject  from 
the  other  side.  Thus  a  spirit  told  me:  "They 
gradually  disappear,  and  we  do  not  know  what 
becomes  of  them,"  i.e.,  the  wilfully  impenitent. 

*0p.  cit.,  p.  216.  fi.e.,  in  the  sense  of  passing  through  our 
Bo-ealled  "Death."  The  ''Second  Death"  terminates  fhe  life 
hereafter. 


FUTURE  ANNIHILATION  POSSIBLE  195 

The  late  Preb.  C.  A.  Bow  discusses  the  question, 
explaining  the  several  Greek  words  which  imply 
** destruction"  in  an  absolute  sense,  as  signifying 
the  anniliilation  of  Man's  soul,  and  not  a  continu- 
ous suffering  of  some  punishment.  For  example : 
"He  that  loveth  his  life  {i.e.,  soul)  shall  lose  it 
[literally  'destroy'  it];  but  he  that  hateth  life 
[soul]  in  this  world,  shall  keep  it  into  age-long 
life."  On  this  he  remarks:  ''The  Greek-speaking 
Christian  would  understand  by  the  word  'lose' 
the  ordinary  idea  denoted  by  the  term  'destroy'; 
and  the  word  would  wholly  fail  to  convey  to  him 
that  of  any  existence  in  never-ending  torment, 
without  some  previous  intunation  that  such  was 
its  intended  meaning." 

Again :  ' '  The  word  of  the  cross  is  to  them  that 
are  perishing,  foolislmess  (/  Cor.,  1,  18)."  Here 
the  words  evidently  denote  an  act  not  yet  com- 
pleted ;  and  as  far  as  the  words  are  concerned,  one 
which  may  be  of  long  or  short  duration,  but  which 
will  ultimately  terminate  in  destruction. 

Prebendary  Row  concludes  the  chapter  as  fol- 
lows: "The  general  idea  which  the  passages 
(quoted  and  others)  are  calculated  to  suggest  to 
the  mind  of  the  reader,  may  be  well  expressed  in 
the  words  of  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews: 'It  is  a  fearful  tiling  to  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the  living  God!'  For  aught  we  know,  sin  wil- 
fully persisted  in,  i.e.,  by  evil  become  inherent  and 
irremediable,  which  resists  every  means  of  cure 
consistent  with  the  preservation  of  free  agency,  in 
a  moral  being,  may  bring  about  the  destruction  of 


196  FUTURE  ANNIHILATION  POSSIBLE 

the  sinner  in  the  course  of  God's  ordinary  govern- 
ment of  the  moral  and  spiritual  world,  without  the 
necessity  of  any  special  intervention  on  His  part ; 
just  as  disease  brings  about  the  destruction  of  the 
body  under  God's  ordinary  government  of  the 
natural  world."* 

A  few  texts  may  illustrate  that  God  would  have 
all  men  to  be  saved,  but  that  they  can  *' quench 
the  spirit"  and  refuse  its  influence. 

"We  have  our  hope  set  on  the  Living  God ;  Who 
is  the  Saviour  of  all  men ;  especially  of  them  that 
believe."!  That  is,  He  offers  Himself  to  all,  but 
they  may  reject  the  offer. 

'^Denying  ungodliness.  .  .  And  worldly  lust, 
ive  should  live  soberly  and  righteously  and  godly 
in  this  present  world."! 

"Have  I  pleasure  in  the  death  of  the  wicked? 
Saith  the  Lord  God;  and  not  that  he  should  re- 
turn from  his  way  and  live,"  i.e.,  of  his  own  free 
will. 

"I  have  no  pleasure  in  the  death  of  him  that 
dieth,  wherefore  turn  yourselves."^ 

"Wlien  the  wicked  man  turneth  away  from  his 
wickedness,  etc. 


"I 


Man's  free  will  decides  which  he  will  do. 

The  Bishop  of  Oxford,  Dr.  Gore,  has  arrived  at 
the  same  conclusion:  "I  do  not  think  ...  we  are 
absolutely  shut  up  into  the  almost  intolerable 
belief  in  never  ending  conscious  torment  for  the 
lost. . .  Final  moral  ruin  may  involve,  I  cannot  but 

*Future  Retribution,  Ch.  IX.,  p.  238.  -fl  Tim.,  4,  9;  Cp.  2,  4. 
:j:ritu8,  2,  11.  %E2.,  18,  32.  ||See  the  first  sentence  in  the 
Prayer   Book. 


FUTURE  ANNIHILATION  POSSIBLE  197 

think,  such  a  dissolution  of  personality  as  carries 
with  it  the  cessation  of  personal  consciousness.  In 
this  way  the  final  ruin  of  irretrievably  lost  spirits, 
awful  as  it  is  to  contemplate,  may  be  found  con- 
sistent with  St.  Paul's  anticipation  of  a  universe 
in  which  ultimately  God  is  to  be  all  in  all — which 
does  not  seem  to  be  really  compatible  with  the 
existence  of  a  region  of  everlastingly  tormented 
and  rebellious  spirits."* 

The  final  result,  therefore,  depends  upon  Free 
will  alone:  *'The  general  teaching  of  the  New 
Testament  appears  to  be  that,  on  the  one  hand, 
the  choice  between  good  and  evil  in  this  world  is 
one  which  involves  abiding  consequences  extend- 
ing far  beyond  the  limits  of  this  life ;  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  there  is  no  clear  evidence  that  any  of 
the  writers  contemplated  for  the  sinner  an  un- 
ending existence  in  a  state  of  torment  and  re- 
bellion against  God." 

The  Greek  word  {Olethros)^^  therefore,  pre- 
cludes the  idea  that  all,  without  exception,  might 
be  finallv  saved.  AMien  Christ  said:  '*If  I  be  lifted 
up,  I  will  draw  all  men  to  Myself,"  He  could  only 
mean,  'provided  they  consent  to  be  drawn.'  For  we 
know  He  could  not  draw  the  rulers  of  Israel,  who 
crucified  Him,  and  persecuted  His  followers  after- 
wards. 

Salvation,  I  repeat,  depends  upon  man's  free 
will,  and  he  must  work  it  out  himself,  though  it 
may  be  in  fear  and  trembling.! 

"Quoted  by  Mr.  Emmot;  lor.  cit.,  p.  208.  ^OUiTiros  Bignifiea 
total  destruction,  as  our  liord  said  of  the  temple,  "not  ono 
stone  would  bo  left  on  another."     %Ph,il.,  2,  12. 


198  FUTURE  ANNIHILATION  POSSIBLE 

Of  our  prospects  of  activities  in  the  world  to 
come,  an  eminent  writer*  says :  "  I  would  empha- 
size (the  belief)  that  the  life  of  God  must  not  only 
be  said  to  be,  but  actually  imagined  as  something 
fuller,  richer,  and  more  alive,  as  something  more 
concrete,  not  less  so,  than  the  life  of  man;  and 
that  the  life  of  Heaven  must  be  thought  of  as 
more,  not  less,  teeming  with  varied  content  than 
that  of  earth.  Life  here  would  be  intolerable 
without  variety,  and  the  life  of  a  world  which  is 
better  than  this,  would  have  in  it  more,  and  not 
less,  variety,  than  that  of  this  world.*' 

Dr.  Streeter  maj^  like  to  know  that  what  he  says 
in  the  preceding  paragraph  represents  what  Spir- 
its are  constantly  assuring  us  is  the  case.  It  is 
from  this,  which  the  Suicide  and  (at  least  tempo- 
rarily) the  determinedly  wicked,  voluntarily  ex- 
clude themselves,  if  they  utterly  refuse  to  repent, 
and  annihilation  is  the  inevitable  and  natural 
result. 

With  regard  to  the  Second  Death  mentioned  in 
Revelations,t  Dr.  Alford  observes:  "As  those  in  a 
second  and  higher  life,  so  those  also  in  a  second 
and  deeper  death.  And  as  after  that  life  there  is 
no  more  death,  so  after  that  death  there  is  no 
more  life.'* 

We  might,  perhaps,  make  a  comparison ;  as  the 
present  body  perishes  if  it  be  not  fed  with  bread, 
so  the  spiritual  body  and  soul,  if  not  fed  with  the 
Bread  of  Life,  perish  for  ever. 

*Dr.  B,  H.  Streeter,  The  Life  of  the  World  to  come,  in  Im- 
mortality   p.  152.     fBev.,  2,  11;  and  20,  14. 


CHAPTEE  XIV 

SPIRITUALISM  IN  THE   BIBLE,   e.g.,  THE 

WITCH    OF    ENDOR,    AND    THE    HOLY 

SEANCE  ON  THE  DAY  OF  PENTECOST 

Saul 's  visit  to  the  Witch  of  Endor. — The  f  eatnres  identical  with 
present-day  spiritualism. — The  Day  of  Pentecost,  the  phenom- 
ena described,  of  frequent  occurrence  in  present-day  seances: 
e.g.,  Wind,  ' '  tongues  of  fire, ' '  controlling  by  spirits,  etc. — Corrobo- 
rations by  other  writers. — Similar  phenomena,  recorded  in  the 
Old  Testament. — Dr.  Hooper's  experiences  of  physical  phenomena 
at  seances. — The  source  of  the  wind — spirit  lights  a  common- 
feature,  described  by  other  observers — they  can  move  intelli- 
gently, implying  the  presence  of  an  unseen  spirit  indicated  by 
them;  hence  they  can  enter  and  control  the  sitters. — Dr.  Hooper's 
remarks  on  the  day  of  Pentecost. — A  communication  from  Ajax 
on  the  phenomena.— Spiritual  Healing,  Dr.  Hooper's  power  of, 
and  experiences. 

Spirits  call  onr  attention  to  the  fact  that  the 
phenomena  of  Spiritualism,  vAih  which  we  are 
now  very  familiar,  are  often  mentioned  through- 
out the  Bible.  I  possess  six  psychographs  out  of 
twelve  plates ;  four  are  crowded  with  texts,  all  of 
which  were  in  an  unopened  packet.  On  the  fifth 
was  the  entire  Ode  of  Horace  in  Latin,  beginning 
Ehul  fugaces  Posthume,  Posthume;  while  a  sixth 
has  several  beautiful  female  faces,  the  remaining 
plates  were  vacant.* 

•The  last-mentioned  plate  is  reproduced  in  my  book  The 
Proofs  of  the  Spirit  Forces;  with  a  full  description  by  quotation 
of  all  the  many  texts  referred  to  by  "Ajax." 

199 


200      SPIRITUALISM  IN  THE  BIBLE 

I  will  take  two  examples,  the  ''Witcli  of  En- 
dor"  and  the  ^* Seance  on  the  Day  of  Pentecost," 
for  all  the  p]  enomena  therein  described  are  of 
conmion  occurrence  at  present  day  seances; 
though  the  matter  spoken  by  the  control  is  not 
always  spiritual,  nevertheless  a  portion  consists 
of  a  religious  discourse,  following  the  reading  of 
a  portion  of  the  Bible  and  hymns  sung  by  the 
members  of  the  circle;  for  all  true  seances  par- 
take more  or  less  of  a  religious  meeting. 

In  the  case  of  the  *' Witch  of  Endor,''  if  the 
reader  will  turn  to  the  passage,  it  will  be  seen  that 
Saul  comes  to  consult  her  as  to  his  difficulties.  He 
disguises  himself,  and  being  under  the  false  im- 
pression that  the  Witch  or  Medium  had  the  power 
to  "command"  (through  a  "familiar"  or  ser- 
vant-spirit) anyone  to  appear,  Saul  says:  "Di- 
vine unto  me,  I  pray  thee,  by  the  familiar  spirit, 
and  bring  me  up  whomsoever  I  shall  name  unto 
thee."  Samuel,  hearing  Saul's  voice  through  the 
medium,  appears  clairvoyantly  to  the  woman ;  but 
he  cannot  be  seen  by  Saul,  so  he  asks  her  who  it 
is.  She  recognizes  Samuel,  and  then  probably 
passes  into  a  trance,  so  that  Samuel  can  control 
her  and  speak  directly  to  Saul.  As  soon  as  he  had 
finished  [v.  19)  Saul  falls  to  the  ground  and  the 
woman  comes  to  herself  again  and  entertains 
Saul;  analogous  features  occur  at  many  seances. 
With  regard  to  the  phenomena  of  the  "Day  of 
Pentecost"  all  of  them  occur  at  seances  at  the 
present  day;  only  instead  of  supposing  the  Holy 


SPIEITUALISM  IN  THE  BIBLE      201 

Ghost,  i.e.,  God,  speaking  through  each  and  all 
simultaneously,  each  speaks  as  he  was  controlled 
by  a  separate  spirit  indicated  by  the  **  spirit- 
light"  sent  from  the  spirit  world. 

The  history  of  the  use  of  the  word  ** spirit" 
shows  that  it  was  thought  in  earlier  times  that  all 
emotions  were  due  to  spirits  sent  by  God,  good 
and  bad  alike,  as  an  ''evil  spirit  from  the  Lord" 
came  upon  Saul.  This  we  should  now  call  a 
furious  fit  of  jealousy.  Conversely  a  good  impulse 
was  regarded  as  due  to  a  good  spirit,  and  the 
higher  expression  "Holy  Spirit"  is  used  in  the 
New  Testament.  But  the  Creed  emphasizes  the 
truth  that  since  "God  is  Spirit"  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  God;  as  stated  in  the  Athanasian  Creed 

We  read :  ""When  the  dav  of  Pentecost  was  now 
come,  they  were  all  together  in  one  place.  And 
suddenly  there  came  from  heaven  a  sound  of  the 
rushing  of  a  mighty  wind,  and  it  filled  all  the 
house  where  they  were  sitting.  And  there  ap- 
peared unto  them  tongues  parting  asunder  like 
as  of  fire."  (No.  6.)  A  Spirit-light  often  settles 
on  each  of  the  sitters  of  the  circle  at  a  seance. 
Such  may  be  another  method  of  controlling  the 
speech  without  the  individual  being  in  a  trance. 
Similarly  to  the  spirit  controlling  the  hand  in 
"automatic"  writing. 

This  suggests  the  probability  that  the  man  at 
Gadara  was  "possessed,"  as  he  at  once  called  out: 
"What  have  we  to  do  with  Thee,  thou  Son  of 


/ 


202      SPIRITUALISM  IN  THE  BIBLE 

God?  Art  Thou  come  to  torment  us  before  the 
time?" 

The  spirits  in  ordinary  automatic  handwriting 
always  say  ''we"  and  not  "I"  or  "me." 

Similarly  the  slave  girl  at  Philippi said :  "These 
men  are  the  servants  of  the  most  High  God,  v/hich 
proclaim  unto  you  the  way  of  salvation." 

Smiilarly,  too,  it  may  have  been  a  spirit  speak- 
ing through  Jesus  when  only  twelve  years  old: 
"Wist  ye  not  that  I  must  be  in  my  Father's 
House?"  Because  in  each  case  the  words  spoken 
were  appropriate,  yet  at  the  same  time  incon- 
gruous with  the  persons  who  spoke  them. 

The  tongues  of  fire  sat  upon  each  of  them..  And 
they  were  all  filled  with  the  Holy  Ghost  (or  as  we 
might  call  it  "spiritual  illumination"),  and  began 
to  speak  with  other  tongues,  as  the  Spirit [s]  gave 
them  utterance."   (No.  6.) 

The  expressions  italicized  correspond  with  phe- 
nomena which  are  frequent  at  present  day  se- 
ances. I  will  now  add  a  description  by  Dr.  Hooper 
who  has  experienced  all  of  them.  I  have  not  per- 
sonally seen  "spirit  lights"  nor  felt  the  wind; 
but  I  have  heard  a  control  speaking  in  a  tongue 
(Italian)  unknown  to  the  medium. 

On  asking  Dr.  Hooper  what  experience  he  has 
had  of  the  occurrences,  his  reply  is  as  follows: 
"With  regard  to  'lights,'  *  rushing  wind,'  'tongues 
of  fire,'  we  get  them  nearl}^  every  Sunday;  in  fact 
they  are  always  the  prelude  to  a  successful  physi- 
cal seance.  All  our   members   have   experienced 


SPIRITUALISM  IN  TEE  BIBLE      203 

these  phenomena.  The  wind  blows  most  power- 
fully at  onr  Trmnpet-seances.  The  other  sitters 
{not  clairvoyants)  see  me,  (the  medium)  sur- 
rounded by  a  white  vapourous  light." 

In  the  Old  Testament  a  very  similar  phenom- 
enon is  recorded  in  connection  with  communica- 
tions from  the  Deity.  "Behold  the  Lord  passed  by 
and  a  great  and  strong  wind  rent  the  mountain." 

* '  Then  the  Lord  answered  Job  out  of  the  whirl- 
wmd. ' ' 

Dr.  Hooper  further  writes  me  as  follows  re- 
garding his  own  experiences  which  tally  A\'ith  the 
phenomena  described  in  the  Day  of  Pentecost. 

*'My  own  observations  of  the  Seance-room 
where  I  have  seen  successful  occurrences,  are  as 
follows :  They  begin  AAith  a  gentle  breeze  over  the 
hands  which  gradually  increases  in  power.  Then 
the  legs  become  cold  and  a  peculiar  sensation,  as 
of  a  Avind  or  a  force  passing  round  the  circle.  It 
has  been  so  violent  that  the  members  shiver  mth 
the  violence  of  the  rushing  of  power.  Then  'globes' 
of  misty  luminosity  appear  that  break  upon  con- 
tact with  the  table  or  floor  with  a  violent  con- 
cussion, and  loud  noises.  At  other  times  they  are 
tiny  pencil-points  of  light  that  produce  tiny  raps, 
tongues  of  fire  appear  suddenly  among  the  sitters; 
and  directly  these  tongues  of  fire  are  absorbed  by 
a  sitter  they  pass  under  control  of  a  spirit  en- 
tity." (Just  as  recorded  in  the  gathering  on  the 
Day  of  Pentecost.) 

'I  have  been  present  at  seances,"  Dr.  Hooper 


<  <' 


204      SPIRITUALISM  IN  THE  BIBLE 

continues,  ''where  the  sitters  have  been  glad  to 
wrap  themselves  in  anything  that  was  handy  even 
on  a  summer's  evening. 

*'I  have  seen  and  felt  the  floor,  walls  and  con- 
tents of  a  room  violently  vibrate  with  the  power 
of  the  mighty  rushing  wind.  Considerable  force 
must  have  been  present  to  see  a  piano  weighing 
5  cwt.  rock;  and  I  have  heard  the  keys  played 
upon  although  the  case  was  locked. 

'*I  have  seen  a  convertable  six-legged  dining- 
room  table  with  a  slate  bed  raised  18  inches  from 
th«  floor  in  a  good  light.  I  was  present  at  a  seance 
when  a  gentleman  weighing  over  twelve  stone  was 
carried  from  one  side  of  the  room  to  another.  He 
was  an  investigator  and  not  a  spiritualist  nor  a 
medium,  and  it  took  place  in  his  owti  dining-room. 

"Twenty  years'  experience  has  taught  me  to 
believe  such  phenomena  to  be  inseparable  from 
the  mighty  rushing  wind  and  the  genuineness  of 
the  physical  phenomena." 

With  regard  to  the  source  of  the  rushing  wind 
at  seances.  Dr.  Hopper  writes  me  as  follows :  "The 
forces  (wind,  etc.)  manifested  at  seances  proceed 
from  us  on  earth.  I  am  fully  of  opinion  that  it  is 
our  *  organic'  force  that  is  manipulated  by  the 
spirits  and  that  mediumship  is  a  peculiar  organic 
quality  that  can  be  cultivated  to  a  certain  degree ; 

*Cp.,  Acts,  8,  40.  This  process  is  now  called  "  levitation. " 
Azotus,  the  Greek  form  of  Ashdod,  is  now  called  Astud.  See 
Glimpsca  of  the  next  State,  p.  420.  A  relative  (a  boy)  of  Arch- 
deacon Colley,  was  levitated  a  distance  of  thirty  yards,  while 
lying  in  «  hut  r««aing.  The  hut  fell  down  immediately  after- 
wards.    He  kept  the  book  as  a  memento. 


SPIRITUALISM  IN  THE  BIBLE      205 

but  a  medium  is  horn  one,  and  can  be  developed, 
but  not  made.  What  makes  me  so  strongly  of  this 
opinion  is  that  some  people  I  knew  in  Bristol 
(the  town  where  the  famous  Dr.  Monck,  (Adani- 
jah*)  had  his  livhig)  were  anxious  to  investigate 
Spiritualism.  They  met  regularly  twice  a  week 
for  some  twelve  months.  The  result  were  nil — 
not  even  a  rap  or  tilt  of  the  table.  They  heard  of 
my  mediumship  and  asked  me  to  attend  one  of 
their  seances ;  which  I  did,  with  most  marvellous 
results;  yet  in  the  follomng  weeks  there  was  an 
absence  of  the  slightest  phenomenon.  They  were 
sincere  and  conformed  to  all  the  rules,  yet  they 
were  barren  of  results.  This  proved  that  my 
presence  brought  the  necessary  organic  (radium- 
istic?)  qualities  that  constitute  the  medium  be- 
tween the  two  worlds.  This  force,  emanating  from 
our  bodies,  can  be  measured  by  instruments." 

Spirit  lights  are  a  common  phenomenon.  The 
following  is  a  description  from  Do  the  Dead  Re- 
turn? 

**A  candle  was  burning  on  the  mantelpiece 
when  the  first  signs  (taps,  and  cold  breezes  pass- 
ing over  hands  and  faces)  were  given  of  spirit 
presence.  We  sang  a  hymn,  and  then,  by  request  of 
the  *  invisibles'  read  parts  of  Holy  Scripture,  both 
from  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  chapter  and 
verse  in  each  case  being  evidently  well  kno-wn  and 
clearly  and  emphatically  indicated.  A  quarter 
of  an  hour  or  so  thus  passed  away,  the  tokens  of 

•As  in  earth,  so  as  a  spirit,  he  always  spelled  this  word  with 
an  n,  insto.-Kl  of  an  o. 


206      SPIEITUALISM  IN  THE  BIBLE 

the  presence  of  invisible  power  becoming  more  and 
more  marked.  We  were  now  requested  to  ex- 
tinguish the  light.  Almost  immediately  there  ap- 
peared floating  through  the  room  a  number  of 
small  lights  passing  round  the  circle,  past  our 
faces  and  over  our  heads  with  extraordinary 
rapidity. 

' '  These  little  balls  of  light  sparkle  and  twinkle 
like  stars  as  they  pass  through  the  room,*  now 
increasing,  now  decreasing  in  brilliancy;  again, 
now  high  up  in  the  air,  near  the  ceiling,  now  close 
to  the  sitter,  and  almost  touching  his  face." 

'"At  subsequent  sittings  with  the  same  lady,  I 
have  seen  lights  of  much  larger  size  and  of  greater 
brilliancy,  in  shape  resembling  a  tongue  of  fire  or 
a  flame  such  as  is  produced  by  an  ordinary  small 
oil  lamp."!  A  further  description  of  lights  is 
given  by  Mr.  Speer,  at  Moses'  seances. t 

We  have  seen  above  that  spirit  lights  can  move 
intelligently,  and  in  response  to  the  wishes  of  the 
sitters  of  a  seance.  They  are  therefore  a  means  of 
indicating  their  presence.  The-  alighting  on  the 
head  of  a  medium  w^ould  correspond  to  the  ordi- 
nary way  a  spirit  enters  and  controls  one,  by 
passing  through  the  head  into  the  body,  as  de- 
scribed in  Vice-Admiral  Osborne  Moore.|| 

I  had  asked  Dr.  Hooper  if  he  could  supply  me 
with  a  spirit-photograph  of  "spirit    tongues    of 

*They  are  often  very  small,  almost  microscopical,  as  in  the 
photo  of  forked  tongues  of  light  (No.  6).  fOp.  cit.,  p.  27. 
^Biography  of  Rev.  Stainton  Moses,  by  C.  T.  Speer,  p.  xiii,  in 
Spirit  Teachings.     WGlimpses  of  the  Next  State,  p.  557. 


SPIRITUALISM  IN  THE  BIBLE      207 

fire."  The  following  is  his  description  of  the  tak- 
ing No.  6  (Jan.  1917):  "On  December  17th,  we 
acted  upon  your  suggestion  and  made  an  exposure 
vsith  the  camera  in  our  seance.  The  camera  was 
placed  about  six  feet  from  myself,  pointing  to- 
wards me,  and  during  the  physical  portion  of  our 
seance,  held  in  complete  darkness.  Mr.  Bailey 
turned  the  bulb  to  open  the  shutter,  and  it  was 
left  open  for  about  one  and  a  half  hours  in  total 
darkness.   No  light  was  used  whatever. 

''The  large  tongue  gives  a  very  good  represen- 
tation of  the  lights  as  seen;  the  myriad  of  light 
dots  (best  seen  in  the  photograph  through  a  pock- 
et-lens) I  think  must  represent  the  tiny  pin  points 
of  lights  that  are  constantly  seen  during  our  se- 
ances. The  light  at  the  bottom  portion,  I  think, 
must  represent  the  luminous  mist  that  the  sitters 
always  see  in  front  of  me.  The  edge  of  the  table 
was  just  where  it  appears  when  focussed  on  the 
ground  glass  screen.  The  topmost  head — is  it  the 
Archdeacon  ?  He  was  very  much  in  evidence  that 
evening  and  spoke  for  a  long  time  through  the 
trumpet.    The  lower  face  we  do  not  recognize." 

A  close  comparison  of  this  head  with  that  of  the 
Archdeacon  shows  some  points  of  resemblance; 
but  the  totality  leads  one  to  the  conclusion  that 
it  is  not  he. 

Dr.  Hooper  adds  a  few  more  words  touching  the 
Day  of  Pentecost:  "At  tlie  Day  of  Pentecost, 
there  were  gathered  togetlier  the  disciples  of 
Christ,  who  were  undoubtedly  chosen  because  of 


208      SPIRITUALISM  IN  THE  BIBLE 

their  mediumistic  gifts.  That  is  proved  by  their 
being  told  not  to  tliink  of  what  they  were  to  say, 
as  the  words  would  be  put  into  their  mouths. 

**  Sceptics  often  sneer  at  the  absence  of  pheno- 
mena because  of  unbelievers  being  present;  but 
I  believe  even  Christ,  who  demonstrated  such 
wonderful  powers,  had  to  retire  from  a  people 
with  whom  He  could  not  work  any  miracles  be- 
cause of  their  unbelief." 

All  testify  to  the  necessity  of  harmonious  con- 
ditions at  a  seance;  any  discordance  appears  to 
arrest  the  spirit's  capabilities  of  communicating. 
An  evil  spirit  may  so  harm  a  medium  that  another 
following  is  prevented  from  talking.  This  oc- 
curred with  Dora,  as  she  said. 

Lastly,  judging  by  modern  experiences,  we  may 
assume  that  the  various  dialects  of  Aramaic 
spoken  by  those  on  whom  the  spirit-lights  rested, 
were  uttered  by  the  spirit-controls  in  them.  **As 
the  spirit  gave  them  utterance,"  was  the  expres- 
sion of  the  describer,  but  not  strictly  accurate  as 
a  matter  of  fact. 

The  following  is  a  communication  on  the  Day 
of  Pentecost,  from  the  other  side.  '*Ajax,"  in 
earth-life,  was  a  well  known  preacher  in  Chicago ; 
but  I  do  not  know  his  real  name ;  he  was  asked  to 
give  his  explanation  of  the  phenomena  of  the  Day 
of  Pentecost.  It  was  a  very  long  discourse,  of 
which  the  following  are  a  few  items  of  more  spe- 
cial importance.  He  at  once  recognized  it  as  a 
great  spiritualistic  meeting,  and  observed:  **The 


SPIRITUALISM  IN  THE  BIBLE      209 

mighty  rushing  wind  was  just  as  you  have  ex- 
perienced it  here,  so  many  times  in  this  seance 
room.  It  is  ahnost  impossible  for  important  or 
great  manifestations  to  take  place  unless  you  have 
that  mnd.  AVhat  does  it  consist  of  I  It  is  a  psychic 
force.  Whence  does  it  emanate  I  From  the  bodies 
of  the  sitters.  It  is  a  power  which  cannot  be  seen 
by  the  naked  eye.  A  magnet,  as  you  term  it,  has 
both  north  and  south  poles,  and  it  is  possible  to 
depolarize  those  poles  by  mean^  knoAvn  to  your 
scientists.  The  spirits,  as  they  come  in  your 
seance  room,  make  use  of  the  forces  from  your 
bodies.  They  gather  them  together  from  out  of 
the  battery  that  is  made,  as  it  were,  by  those  who 
are  meeting  there,  and  they  utilize  the  forces,  in 
order  that  they  may  demonstrate  their  presence 
to  you  here  upon  earth. 

''Depolarization  is  known  to  be  a  fact;  what 
is  it?  They  know  it  is  a  force,  but  what  the  force 
is,  they  cannot  explain  to  you;  and  such  being 
the  case  it  is  no  wonder  that  spiritualistic  phe- 
nomena are  wrapt  in  so  much  mystery. 

"Spiritualism  has  proved  to  you  that  the  com- 
monly termed  "dead"  can  and  do  return  through 
our  various  mediums  to-day.  They  have  spoken 
in  divers  tongues;  and  not  only  so,  but  persons 
who  have  been  present  have  recognized  the  lan- 
guage that  has  been  used,  and  have  said  that  it  is 
without  fault. 

"How  many  of  your  spiritualistic  men  have 
been  aware  that  the  spirits  of  the  departed  have 


210      SPIRITUALISM  IN  THE  BIBLE 

given  forth  outpourings  of  which  they  are  totally 
ignorant;  and  persons  have  been  present  that 
have  been  able  to  converse  with  them  in  languages 
of  which  the  medium  is  entirely  ignorant? 

''Then,  again,  we  must  consider  the  definition 
of  'tongues  of  fire.'  How  many  of  you  spiritual- 
ists that  are  gathered  here  have  seen  the  tongues 
of  fire  descend  and  come  in  contact  "with  your 
medium?  For  this  is  a  very  common  occurrence, 
and  has  been  acknowledged  by  men  of  science. 

"This  form  of  phenomenon  is  true;  the  only 
difference  is  that  you  spiritualists  acknowledge 
the  phenomenon  to  be  produced  by  the  spirits  of 
the  departed,  while  those  of  the  old  days,  who 
were  gathered  together  after  the  death  of  Christ, 
thought  that  it  was  th  Holy  Spirit  of  God  that  de- 
scended upon  them. 

"You  must  take  your  mind  back  and  think  of 
the  ignorance  in  which  the  people  of  those  days 
were  steeped." 

This  of  course  applied  to  the  disciples.  In  the 
Old  Testament,  every  emotion  of  man,  good  or 
bad,  was  attributed  to  some  spirit  semt  by  God  to 
rest  upon  the  man.  Thus,  as  stated,  Saul's  fit  of 
jealousy  was  thought  to  be  such.  David's  own 
determination  to  number  the  people,  though 
wrong,  was  actually  attributed  to  God  in  the  older 
account,  whereas  after  the  Captivity  having  heard 
about  the  "evil  spirits"  recognized  in  the  East, 
they  took  an  old  Hebrew  word  meaning  "ac- 
cuser," and  so  attributed  David's  sin  of  number- 
ing the  people  to  "Satan." 


SPIRITUALISM  IN  THE  BIBLE      211 

Ajax  continued:  ''Christ  was  a  great  medium 
who  selected  his  disciples  from  amongst  people 
whom  He  knew  to  be  mediumistically  inclined; 
and  when  these  people  were  brought  together  to 
hold  their  seance — because  there  were  so  many 
mediums  present  and  so  much  sjonpathy  between 
them — the  conditions  were  all  that  could  be  washed 
for;  and  the  knowledge  of  spirit  conununication 
was  then  and  there  demonstrated  to  the  world. 

' '  Mediumship  in  those  days  was  brought  to  the 
apex  of  perfection,  because  the  conditions  under 
which  the  mediums  were  developed  were  of  the 
best  that  could  be  obtained;  that  being  so  the 
best  results  were  given  to  the  people,  in  healing, 
prophesying  [i.e.,  preaching]  and  the  gift  of 
speaking  in  divers  languages,  or  'tongues,'  and 
the  interpretation  of  the  tongues." 

Ajax,  it  is  presumed,  means  that  spirits  of  vari- 
ous capacities  spoke  tlirough  the  modiumistic 
disciples.  Thus  one  spirit  might  speak  the  dia- 
lect of  Aramaic  of  the  "parts  about  Cyrene"  or 
Eg}^pt,  another  knowing  both  that  and  Palestine 
could  interpret  it. 

Ajax  concluded  his  address  thus:  "Spiritual- 
ism demonstrates  to  you  that  the  'Days  of  Pente- 
cost' are  not  passed,  but  that  they  are  still  with 
you  to-day.  And  it  is  only  necessary  for  you  to 
meet  together  with  a  firm  belief  and  a  truly  re- 
ligious frame  of  mind  to  demonstrate  this  truth." 

One  of  the  commonest  of  plienomena  at  present- 
day  seances  is  the  presence  of  hands  only.  These 


212      SPIRITUALISM  IN  THE  BIBLE 

have  been  so  often  described  that  I  would  refer 
the  reader  to  my  book  on  the  Proofs  of  the  Truths 
of  Spiritualism,  in  which  I  have  introduced  the 
photograph  of  a  bureau  over  which  a  hand  ap- 
peared. It  recalls  the  account  in  the  Book  of 
Daniel  where  he  described  Belshazzar's  feast  and 
the  hand-writing  on  the  wall :  Mene,  Mene,  Tekel, 
Upharsin.    (No.  7.) 

Belshazzar  was  the  son  of  Nebuchadnezzar,  and 
the  last  King  of  Babylon  (B.  C.  550).  As  the  Book 
of  Daniel  was  written  about  B.C.  150,  or  some  four 
hundred  years  afterwards,  it  must  contain  what 
had  been  handed  down  from  the  earlier  period, 
mixed  with  legend.  But  as  we  now  know,  not 
only  do  isolated  hands  appear  but  sometimes  take 
up  a  pencil  and  write  as  well. 

With  regard  to  the  gift  of  healing,  this  is  large- 
ly possessed  by  Dr.  Hooper  himself  as  his  innum- 
erable and  grateful  patients  (of  which  I  am  one) 
know  so  well.  He  tells  me  that  he  has  no  idea 
whence  the  power  comes;  but  when  manipulating 
a  patient — ^who  may  have  tried  every  resource 
and  failed  to  get  relief,  and  then  faithless  comes 
as  a  last  chance  to  him — Dr.  Hooper  says  he  feels 
as  if  some  force  ** pulsated"  by  throbs  through 
his  body  and  the  moment  his  hand  passes  over  the 
injured  place,  it  is  at  once  felt  by  the  patient, 
though  the  latter  cannot  see  him,  as  when  the 
spine  is  injured,  and  he  is  lying  face  do-vvnwards.* 

*Dr.  Hooper's  expression  reminds  one  of  what  is  recorded  by 
St.  Mark:  "Jesus  perceiving  in  Himself  that  the  power  proeeed- 
in(T  from  Him  had  gone  forth,  etc." — Marie,  5,  30. 


SPIRITUALISM  IN  THE  BIBLE      213 

When  Archdeacon  Colley  first  went  to  see  Dr. 
Hooper  it  was  to  try  his  skill  on  a  very  painful 
knee.  He  told  me  it  was  agony  to  kneel  at  the 
Conununion  service.  In  twenty  minutes  he  was 
cured,  and  he  never  had  any  return  of  the  pain. 
The  reader  must  form  his  own  conclusion  or 
''theory"  to  account  for  this  phenomenon. 

Another  friend  of  mine,  high  sheriff  for  his 
county,  has  a  similar  power  of  healing.  I  had 
been  much  troubled  with  abdominal  pains,  and  I 
asked  him  if  he  could  do  me  any  good.  He  offered 
to  try,  he  living  in  Wales  and  I  in  Bournemouth. 
After  a  few  days  he  wrote : ' '  Did  your  pains  leave 
you  last  Saturday,  because  I  had  them!"  I  wrote 
at  once  to  say  they  had;  and  from  that  day,  six 
years  ago,  I  have  never  been  troubled  with.  them. 
If  this  is  possible  noiv,  can  we  wonder  at  our  Lord 
curing  patients  at  a  distance  as  He  did? 


CHAPTEE  XV 

THE  NATUEE  OF  MAN,  HEEE  AND  HEEE- 

AFTEE 

The  material  and  spirit  composition  of  man. — Difficulty  of 
distinguishing  "soul"  from  "spirit." — "What  life  is. — It  is  not  a 
Force. — Indications  of  the  presence  of  Life. — Psyche  and  Pneuma. 
— The  abuse  of  the  useful  becomes  immoral  and  sinful. — The 
Spiritual,  a  higher  grade  than  the  psychical. — Reasoning  on  the 
concrete  plain  (animal)  ;  on  the  abstract  plain  (man  only). — 
Illustrations. — Animals  cannot  rise  above  the  concrete  or  psy- 
chical stage. — The  theoretical  origin  of  man. — He  acquires  the 
power  of  reasoning  on  abstract  ideas. — Examples  of  structures; 
the  camera  and  the  eye. — The  Origin  of  Morality. — Man  alone  has 
Freewill,  as  contrasted  with  animals,  which  act  automatically. — 
Laws  of  Communities  necessary. — Kammurabi's  Code. — O.  T. 
Laws,  Scholastic. — Motives  of  obedience,  temporal  rewards  and 
punishments. — Conscience  undeveloped. — Christ  stimulated  the 
freewill  of  man  to  follow  His  steps  through  Love  for  Himself, 
without  rewards,  excepting  that  of  a  good  conscience. — ^Love,  the 
root  or  rock  of  Christianity. — The  enthusiasm  of  humanity. 
Pneuma  transcends  Psyche. — The  great  spiritual  Revolution  in- 
troduced by  Christ. — The  Spirit  body. — A  suggested  explanation. 
— The  empty  tomb. — The  information  from  Spirits  about  the 
differences  between  man  and  spirit. 

We  speak  of  a  man  as  having  a  living  body  of 
flesh,  bones,  etc.,  and  a  spirit  as  well  as  a  soul. 
When  he  passes  over,  he  dispenses  with  his  ma- 
terial body,  and  reveals  himself  in  his  spirit-body. 
Otherwise,  he  remains  precisely  the  same  in  all 
the  chara'^teristics  of  his  personality. 
When  we  attempt  to  answer  categorically  the 

214 


THE  NATURE  OF  MAN  215 

question:  What  are  his  soul  and  spirit?  and  what 
constitutes  his  spirit-body  I  We  can  only  reply  in 
a  more  or  less  suggestive  manner,  for  we  are  un- 
able to  deal  with  them  solely  by-  the  scientific 
methods  of  inductions  and  experimental  verifica- 
tions, as  we  can  his  material  system. 

Let  us  start  mth  Life.  "WTiat  it  is,  in  its  essence, 
nobody  knows.  It  is  certainly  not  a  Force,  for  it 
cannot  be  brou^'^ht  into  line  with  all  the  well- 
known  forces.  Its  presence  can  only  be  recog- 
nized by  certain  phenomena,  none  of  which  can 
be  discovered  in  minerals.  Two  of  the  universal 
and  most  significant  characteristics  of  Life  are 
Assimilation  and  Respiration,  i.e.,  the  taking  in 
of  food  for  growth  and  development,  and  breath- 
ing. 

We  recognize  tliat  our  fingers  are  alive,  because 
we  see  our  nails  grow,  and  a  cut  will  heal.  But  life 
in  ourselves  and  animals  is  indicated  by  much 
more  important  things,  such  as  thought  and  rea- 
son, as  well  as  by  emotions,  etc.  These  are  com- 
mon to  man  and  all  animals  provided  with  brains. 
AVe  speak  of  man  as  having  not  only  life,  but  a 
soul  and  spirit.  Can  these  be  distinguished?  We 
talk  of  his  intellect  or  of  his  stupidity,  of  his  free 
Avill,  memory;  where  do  these  find  their  home?  Do 
they  belong  to  his  soul  or  spirit,  or  both?  The 
Greek  words  are  psyche  for  the  soul  and  pneuma 
for  the  spirit.  Both  primarily  mean  ** breath,'* 
and  we  still  speak  metaphorically  of  the  ''breath 
of  life." 


216  THE  NATUEE  OF  MAN 

St.  Paul  distinguishes  them  by  using  corre- 
sponding adjectives;  for  '' Spiritual, ' '  pneuma- 
ikos,  and  for  ''soul,"  Psycliikos;  this  being  trans- 
lated by  ''natural"  in  our  Bible. 

The  Psyche,  or  soul,  would  appear  to  include 
the  properties  of  life,  such  as  desires,  affections, 
or  passions,  etc.,  which  are  common  to  man  and 
animals,  and  "natural"  as  being  developed  as 
our  body  grows.  They  all  have  their  root  in  what 
we  may  call  self-considerations. 

Several,  though  good  and  useful  in  themselves, 
when  indulged  to  excess  by  us,  become  bad  and 
immoral,  or  sinful  traits  in  us;  St.  Paul  then 
groups  them  as  "sins  of  the  flesh,"  which  are  only 
possible  in  man,  for  he  is  conscious  of  having  a 
free  ivill.  No  animal  possesses  this,  for  they  are 
mentally  automatic,  and  remain  non-moral. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  qualities  which  are 
called  "Spiritual"  {pneumatikos)  are  of  a  higher 
kind  of  natural  or  psychical  qualities.  Thus  man 
alone  can  reason  on  the  ahstract  plane,  while  ani- 
mals are  restricted  to  reasoning  on  the  concrete 
only,  i.e.,  as  far  as  a  study  of  their  actions  can 
be  relied  upon,  animals  do  not  rise  beyond  the 
psychical  level. 

Man  alone  ascends  to  the  pneumaticaL  The 
Spirit  is  not  an  absolutely  distinct  entity,  but 
might  be  more  accurately  called  the  highest  type 
of  the  psyche;  neverthless.  there  is  a  sharp  line 
of  demarcation  between  the  two. 

The  distinguishing  features  which  mark  man 


THE  NATURE  OF  MAN  217 

as  distinct  from  animals,  are  best  seen  by  illus- 
trations. Birds,  for  example,  discover  by  experi- 
ment how  to  build  nests  which  they,  presumably, 
think  best  suited  to  their  kind.  They  require  rea- 
son, as  does  the  making  of  a  bird-cage;  but  it  is 
mentally  automatic;  while  in  plants  perfect 
'* reasonable"  adaptations  to  the  visits  of  special 
insects  in  flowers,  is  secured  without  any  previous 
mental  conceptions.  You  may  take  the  eggs  from 
a  nest  of  one  kind  of  bird,  hatch  them  under  a 
totally  different  one,  so  that  when  they  build  their 
nest  (having  supplied  them  with  necessary  ma- 
terials) they  will  build  a  nest  exactly  like  that  of 
their  parents  and  just  as  perfect,  without  having 
been  taught.  The  process  becomes  hereditary  and 
automatic  in  the  race. 

Animals,  therefore,  do  not  appear  able  to  rise 
above  the  psychical.  How  came  man  to  reach  any 
higher  level,  if  he  was  evolved  from  some  animal? 

The  late  eminent  scientist,  Dr.  "W.  B.  Carpenter, 
proposed  the  following  theory:  Contrasting  man's 
skull  vdi\\  that  of  some  anthropoid  ape,  he  calls 
attention  to  the  massive  jaw,  the  large  canine 
teeth,  serviceable  for  offense  or  defense,  when  op- 
posed by  enemies.  Their  use  demands  powerful 
muscles,  deep-seated  in  the  temples.  This  implies 
great  depressions,  which  limit  the  internal 
capacity  for  the  brain. 

The  young  ape  of  to-day  has  a  globular  skull, 
but  as  it  grows,  it  takes  the  more  elongated  form 
of  its  species.     The  conclusion  which  Dr.  Car- 


218  THE  NATURE  OF  MAN 

penter  drew,  was  that  the  external  conditions  of 
life  demanded  their  fighting  apparatus. 

Now  supposing  a  certain  kind  became  free  from 
enemies,  lived  and  thrived  in  isolation.  Atrophy- 
would  set  in  by  constant  disuse,  the  jaw  would 
become  smaller,  the  canine  teeth  reduced,  as  tlioy 
are  in  ourselves,  the  temporal  muscles  of  little 
account,  the  deep  depression  no  longer  exists,  the 
skull  retains  the  globular  form,  and  the  brain  can 
now  develop  itself.  This  then  acquires  new  pow- 
ers, and  the  first  and  most  important  one  is  that 
the  first  "Man"  would  be  able  to  reason  in  the 
abstract  plane.  He  would  realize  that  he,  him- 
self, was  not  part  of  his  body.  The  *'I"  or  ^' Ego," 
was  probably  his  first  abstract  conception,  i.e., 
not  appreciable  by  the  senses.  He  then  reasons 
from  this  fact  that  other  men  must  have  **Egos." 
His  mind  begins  to  rise  to  the  conclusion  that 
many  Egos  must  be  the  source  of  all  the  actions 
of  forces  in  nature,  as  he  could  make,  say,  a  hut, 
or  weapon,  so  then  natural  invisible  Egos  could 
make  things  too,  such  as  all  the  plants  and  ani- 
mals he  sees  about  him. 

He  advances  in  knowledge  and  experience  in 
constructing  things  for  himself,  and  he  in  time 
makes,  let  us  say,  a  camera.  He  discovers  that 
his  own  eye  is  constructed  on  precisely  the  same 
principles.  It  has  a  dark  chamber,  a  sensi- 
tive ** retina"  at  the  back,  a  bi-convex  lens  on  the 
front,  etc.,  and  all  far  more  complete  and  perfect 
than  hie  own  work.  He  has  not  to  extract  a  plate 
from  the  back  of  his  eye ;  for  the  picture  itself  is 


THE  NATURE  OF  MAN  219 

conveyed  as  vibrations  along  the  ** optic  nerve" 
to  a  definite  place  in  the  brain,  where  a  reverse 
process  seems  to  take  place,  for  the  picture  ap- 
pears to  the  sense  of  sight  outside,  near  or  far  as 
the  case  may  be.  Moreover,  the  microscopic  pic- 
ture on  the  retina  is  inverted  just  as  it  is  in  a 
camera. 

The  Being  who  can  do  all  this  must  be  some- 
thing like  himself  but  vastly  superior. 

Another  thing  which  distinguishes  man  from 
animals  is  that  he  soon  discovers  he  cannot  do 
what  he  likes  with  other  people's  property.  Some- 
thing must  be  done  in  conmaunities  to  secure  or- 
der. So  the  community  makes  laws  and  invents 
the  word  '* right"  and  '* wrong,"  or  their  equiva- 
lent, according  as  men  obey  or  disobey  the  laws. 
Such  is,  apparently,  the  origin  of  the  conscious- 
ness of  morality.  **I  had  not  known  sin,  but  by 
the  law,"  says  St.  Paul. 

The  difference  between  man  and  animals  comes 
in  here,  for  man  alone  has  a  free  will  to  choose. 
Animals  have  no  free  will,  but  act  automatically 
in  following  the  strongest  motive.  They  have  no 
naturally  developed  conscience,  though  a  dog  will 
be  ashamed  of  himself  if  he  has  violated  his 
master's  rule,  who  punishes  him  with  the  stick. 
Such  is  a  rudiment — and  as  the  same  scholastic 
system  prevailed  in  Israel,  and  later — there  is  no 
word  for  conscience  in  the  Old  Testament. 

Some  men,  however,  mil  break  the  laws  of  a 
community,  so  temperal  punishments  are  ar- 
ranged for  each  kind  of  misdemeanor. 


220  THE  NATUEE  OF  MAN 

A  good  example  is  seen  in  the  oldest  code  in 
existence,  that  of  Khammurabi,  King  of  Babylon, 
when  Abraham  was  living  there.  Everyone  of  the 
200  or  more  laws  has  its  equivalent  punishment 
following  it.  Several  have  been  copied  and  re- 
appear in  the  book  of  Exodus  and  Leviticus,  such 
as  "an  eye  for  an  eye,*'  "a  tooth  for  a  tooth;'' 
but  Khammurabi  adds,  *'a  slave  for  a  slave,"  and 
a  "son  for  a  son." 

This  system  of  punishment  for  breaking  laws, 
is  still  universal;  and  we  carry  it  out  in  schools. 
But  in  the  Old  Testament,  besides  the  punish- 
ments of  famine,  pestilence,  and  defeat  in  war 
being  threatened  for  disobedience  to  Jehovah's 
laws,  promises  of  reward  are  given,  such  as  peace 
and  prosperity. 

Such  a  system  is  evidently  scholastic,  and  only 
suited  to  a  primitive  class  of  mind;  so  St.  Paul 
says:  "The  law  was  a  schoolmaster  to  bring  man 
to  Christ." 

It  does  not  tend  to  develop  the  Conscience,  con- 
sequently this  word  is  not  to  be  found  in  the 
Old  Testament  at  all. 

On  the  other  hand  we  sometimes  say  to  the 
more  intelligent  school  boys:  "I  do  not  intend 
to  punish  you,  but  I  will  put  you  on  your  honor 
not  to  do  it." 

This  is  something  like  what  Christ  introduced 
into  the  world.  Just  as  a  boy  might  miss  a  reward 
at  first,  he  discovers  a  new  kind  in  the  apprecia- 
tion held  of  his  behavior,  just  so  the  Christian. 
He  discovers  the  reward  of  a  good  conscience  is 


THE  NATURE  OF  MAN  221 

ample.  He  soon  discovers  that  the  results  of  self- 
sacrifice — the  rock  of  Christianity — is  Love,  which 
leads  to  an  enthusiasm  for  doing  good,  and  that 
"it  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive."  Thus 
does  the  pneumatikos  surpass  the  psychicos,  and 
we  have  entered  the  Spiritual  world. 

St.  Paul,  at  the  conclusion  of  his  Psalm  of  Love, 
says:  *'Now  remaineth  these  three.  Faith,  Hope, 
and  Love,  but  the  greatest  of  these  is  Love." 

"Faith"  is  not  only — much  less  the  same  thing 
as — "belief  "  it  is  a  firm  conviction  that  the 
Christ-life  is  the  only  one  all  men  and  women 
should  follow ;  but  Faith  includes  the  fulfilment  of 
this  conviction.  This  is  what  St.  James  says: 
^' Faith,  if  it  have  not  works,  is  dead  in  itself.  .  .  . 
Thou  believest  that  God  is  one;  the  devils  also  be- 
lieve, and  shudder,"  but  no  one  will  credit  them 
with  faith  in  Christ. 

Hope  is  the  enthusiasm  of  the  spirit  of  human- 
ity, and  which  each  of  us  must  have  if  we  profess 
to  walk  as  our  Master  walked. 

Whoever  has  these  three  and  lives  up  to  them, 
is  the  "perfect"  man,  i.e.,  as  far  as  it  is  possible. 
Such  is  pyieumaticos.  He  who  only  lives  a  moral 
life  is  psychicos.  As  the  new  life  was  introduced 
by  Christ,  as  our  example,  it  required  a  new  word 
whereby  to  express  it.  St.  Paul  chose  the  word 
pneumaticos,  i.e.,  "Spiritual,"  while  the  old  laws 
of  the  Decalogue,  etc.,  were  "natural,"  or  psychi- 
cal, for  men  could  discover  their  necessity  for 
themselves. 

St.  Paul  sharply  distinguishes  the  "natural" 


222  THE  NATURE  OF  MAN 

from  the  "  ** spiritual":  *'The  natural  man  re- 
ceive th  not  the  things  that  are  spiritual."  A 
simple  and  only  too  common  example  is  the  selfish 
profiteer,  who  gives  to  no  one,  and  the  open- 
handed  philanthropist. 

Hence  it  is  the  Christian  Religion  that  consti- 
tutes Christ's  '"Word,"  is  spiritual.  The  teach- 
ing of  the  old  laws  was  natural  or  psychical. 

There  is  here  something  akin  to  a  revolution. 
For  the  Christian's  motive  for  keeping  Christ's 
words  is  interior,  i.e.,  Love  in  his  heart;  whereas 
the  motive  was  external  before  Christ  came, 
namely  the  fear  of  punishment,  or  else  the  prom- 
ise of  material  rewards,  the  laws  being  on  tables 
of  stone. 

The  Soul  and  Spirit,  therefore,  stand  for  a  natu- 
ral or  psychical  life  on  the  one  hand,  and  the 
Christian  life,  on  the  other. 

What  is  the  Spirit-body  which  we  acquire  on 
parting  from  our  material  one?  We  do  not  know; 
but  the  results  of  modern  science  are  suggestive. 
We  are  told  that  all  material  things  consist  of 
electrons  or  the  ultimate  corpuscules  of  elec- 
tricity. As  solid  ice  is  the  same  thing  as  liquid 
water  and  gaseous  steam,  their  difference  only 
resulting  from  being  subjected  to  different  de- 
grees of  temperature;  a  consequence  of  which  is 
that  the  molecules  are  more  and  more  drawn 
asunder.  So  may  be  (perhaps)  the  difference  be- 
tween the  material  and  spirit-body  made  out  of  it, 
for  when  a  materialized  spirit  appears  the  weight 
of  the  medium  decreases. 


THE  NATURE  OF  M,4N  223 

May  we  apply  these  resTilts  of  science  to  Our 
Lord's  Resurrection?  He  tells  us  that  He  re- 
ceived the  power  to  raise  Himself,  from  the 
Father.  Being  a  great  Medium  Himself  he  re- 
quired none  other  and  so  we  may  suppose  that  He 
converted  His  own  material,  earthly,  body  into 
what  we  call  a  materialized  spirit-body,  His  new 
clothing  being  "thought-apparel"  according  to 
the  information  we  receive  from  spirits  to-day 
and  we  can  photograph  them. 

As  clairvoyants  can  see  the  spirits  pass  through 
material  doors  or  walls  now,  so  did  Our  Lord 
when  with  His  disciples. 

St.  John's  account  of  his  and  St.  Peter's  visit 
to  the  empty  tomb  is  corroborative  of  the  same 
suggestion.  If  the  reader  will  turn  to  St.  John's 
Gospel  and  read  the  story  in  the  20th  Chapter, 
he  will  see  that  that  Apostle  describes  the  cloths 
''lying,"  i.e.,  undisturbed  on  the  stone  slab  upon 
which  Our  Lord's  body  had  lain,  while  the  napkin 
or  fillet,  which  was  bound  round  His  head  still  re- 
mained coiled  in  a  circular  form  as  the  Greek 
ward  implies  ''rolled  in." 

In  our  English  Bible  it  is  said  St.  Peter,  who 
did  not  enter  the  tomb  before  St.  John  came  up, 
merely  "saw,"  i.e.,  In  Greek  caught  sight  of,  the 
white  cloths  in  the  darkness.  But  when  St.  John 
went  into  the  tomb  he  "beheld,"  that  means  in 
Greek  was  strongly  impressed  at  the  sight. 

When  they  came  out  he  "saw"  and  "believed" 
what  the  Resurrection  meant,  i.e.,  as  the  Greek 
implies,  with  his  mind,  and  that  he  understood. 


Noted   Prophecies 

PREDICTIONS,  OMENS  AND 
LEGENDS  of  the 

GREAT  WAR 

AND  THE  GREAT  CHANGES  TO  FOLLOW 


By  THE  COUNTESS  ZALINSKI 


One  of  the  most  remarkable  of  the  many  strange  and  unusual 
facts  incident  to  the  Great  War  in  which  all  Civilization  is  involved, 
is  the  bringing  to  light  of  many  ancient  prophecies,  and  many  mod- 
ern predictions,  all  of  which  have  unerringly  pointed  out  to  the 
present  terrible  happenings. 

Not  only  have  astrologers  for  many  years  past  pointed  out  that 
the  position  of  the  planets  and  the  fixed  star  inevitably  indicated 
the  beginning  of  the  most  startling  and  terrible  events  in  the  year 
1913  or  1914,  and  also  the  necessary  outcome  of  the  same  great 
struggle,  and  the  end  and  fate  of  many  of  the  great  personages 
taking  part  therein;  but  also  many  modern  prophets  have  for  the 
past  twenty-five  years  predicted  the  same  thing,  basing  their  pre- 
dictions upon  the  great  book  of  prophecies,  i.  e.,  The  Old  Testament. 

There  have  been  for  centuries  past  current  in  various  parts  of 
Europe,  many  old  and  popular  prophecies  which  have  pointed  out 
in  plainly  understood  terms  the  history  of  the  events  leading  up 
to  the  Great  War;  the  beginning  of  the  War  itself  and  the  outcome 
thereof.  In  some  of  these  old  prophecies  even  the  names  of  the 
rulers  of  the  warring  nations  have  been  stated — hundreds  of  years 
before  these  monarchs  were  born.  I'n  one  of  the  oldest  of  these 
ancient  prophecies,  even  the  name  of  the  present  Pope  is  plainly 
and  unmistakably  stated;  in  others  the  name  of  the  Kaiser  is 
mentioned,  and  his  physical  and  mental  characteristics  described. 
In  several  of  these  centuriesold  predictions  the  Place  of  the  Last 
Great  Battle  is  plainly  stated. 

The  publishers  of  the  book  named  above  have  at  a  great  expense, 
and  much  labor,  had  gathered  together  by  a  competent  authority 
on  Occult  Prophecies  and  Astrological  Predictions,  namely  the 
Countess  Zalinski,  now  temporarily  residing  in  Switzerland  where 
she  is  engaged  as  the  correspondent  for  leading  journals  of  Europe 
and  America,  the  most  important  and  authentic  of  these  wonderful 
instances  of  man's  power  to  foretell  the  future.  The  result  of  this 
gifted  lady's  work  appears  in  the  present  book,  which  is  destined 
to  attract  the  attention  of  the  thinking  public  all  over  the  world. 

Bound  in  Cloth,  168  Pages,  Price  $1.10  Postpaid 


AKTrWr     \X7/^0^      Rrsl  Rre  EdiUons  Already  Exhausted 
11  Li  W        W  VJIV^     A  Very  Large  Sixth  Edition  Now  READY 

Our  Self  After  Death 


(^^^jv|j,:^.    :-.>--:;;;  ;H[ 

■•ii'  '-^  i  '  -  ".  ■     , '      - 

OaR-SELF     : 
AFTER  DEATH 

[  ARTHUR  CHAMBERS   | 

"  f      '.. 

By  The 

REV.  ARTHUR  CHAMBERS 

Associate  of  King's  College,  London,  England 


The  Author  Has  Studied  This  Great 
Subject  for  More  Than  Twenty  Years 

The  Great  Inquiry.  What  of  our  Self  After  Death?  No 
question  of  more  Vital  interest.  People  are  not  satisfied 
with  what  they  have  been  told. 

Wrong  and  Inadequate  Answers  Given  to  the  Great  Inquiry. 

Advice  to  Those  That  Shudder  at  the  Thought  of  the  Grave 
of  Oblivion  for  Themselves  and  Their  Dead. 

The  Answer  of  Christ  to  the  Great  Inquiry. 

A  Very  Wonderful  Change  Has  Come  Over  the  World  of 
Scientific  Thought  During  the  Last  Thirty  Years. 

What  Christ  Taught  as  to  the  Continuance  of  the  Self  at 
Death. 

In  the  Innumerable  Instances  of  Persons  Seen  After  Death, 
They  Have  Borne  the  Form  and  Even  the  Character  of 
Dress  by  Which  They  Had  Been  Known  Before  Departure 
From  This  Life. 

The  Evidence  Conclusively  Proves  That  Discarnate  Souls  Can, 
and  Do  Establish  at  Times  Communications  Between  the 
Spirit- World  and  This  World. 

The  Advancing  Self  in  Spirit-Life  Has  the  Power  of  Trans- 
mitting Mental  and  Spiritual  Impulses  Which  Can  Be 
Consciously  Received  by  Us  Here. 

No  One  Can  Read  This  Scholarly  Work  and  Not  Receive  a 
Magnificent  Radiance  of  Hope,  Unperceived  and  Un- 
dreamed of  in  the  Religious  Philosophy  of  Many. 

The  Author  says:  "It  is  possible  for  us  who  live  in  an  age 
of  enlarged  Christian  Thought,  of  scientific  psychical 
research,  and  ever-extending  knowledge  of  the  mysteries 
of  humanity  to  know  far  more  on  the  subject  of  After 
Life  than  Christendom  Ikis  in  the  past  perceived. 

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